Lord Voldemort: Matchmaker
by potato4
Summary: When the one and only ex-Lord Voldemort plays matchmaker, eight of our favorite characters end up on a desert island. Add a new Muggle game show and two overenthusiastic hosts, and what will happen? Main couple: D/Hr. Other couples are a surprise!
1. Prologue

Full Summary: When the one and only ex-Lord Voldemort decides to play matchmaker, eight of our favorite characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson end up on a deserted island. Add a hot new Muggle game show, two overenthusiastic hosts, and what will happen? The main couple is Draco/Hermione, but there will be other pairings. They are just a surprise!

A.N-I PROMISE you, this fic is not as creepy as it sounds. It will get more exciting, but the prologue is kind of boring. It will NOT be OOC. Just Voldemort is. (But some of the old Voldy will stay. This fic just tries to show his good side.)

To all of you Draco and Hermione Read FanFiction readers: I decided to post this early. Don't worry, though! DHRFF is my first priority!

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.

Prologue

Lord Voldemort was bored. Or, as he now like to be called, Tom Riddle was bored. This boredom did not come as a surprise, however, it was rather expected, seeing as he was the one and only ex-Lord Voldemort.

Thinking back upon it, he wondered why he made the decision he did. Perhaps it was just he being caught in the moment again. Because during the Final War, when he and Harry Potter were circling each other, wands raised, Harry had offered him the chance to repent. And to general astonishment, he had accepted the offer.

Four years later, Tom Riddle was your everyday ex- mass murderer, lounging around on his couch for the fourteen-millionth time. He didn't have much of a choice on where to go, however, because he hadn't gotten off completely clean- he was still under house arrest.

So, as previously mentioned, he was bored. Twirling his wand between his ever-remaining long and pale fingers, Tom contemplated what to do with his day. He decided to start off with scanning the Daily Prophet. Everyday, there seemed to be at least on article on at least 1/3 of the Golden Trio. Today, it was the recap on the scandalous breakup of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It had been exactly 5 months since the split, and the public was beginning to realize that this might be the end of the heroic couple.

Ah… here was a new topic. It was an article about Draco Malfoy, ex-Death Eater, who heroically became one of the light a few months before the War took place. Apparently, he had inherited his father's company, Malfoy Industries, and had hired the Golden Girl Hermione Granger as their company lawyer. According to Rita Skeeter, this could only lead to romance, as the goody-goodies girls always hooked up with the bad boys in the end.

Most people didn't know it, but Tom was very nosy. He loved to get into other people's business and play with their lives. And Rita's little comment near the end of the article gave him a little idea.

Perhaps she was right… Tom knew quite a bit about the Malfoy boy, and enough about Granger to know that they were compatible. And maybe a little more than just that… Maybe they could make a good couple.

When the War had ended with Tom turning to the light, he and Harry had become… acquaintances. They would have a conversation here and there, and Harry would tell him about himself and his friends. From what Tom had most recently heard:

Harry was a successful Auror and Ministry official, working to eradicate the Death Eaters in hiding.

Ron Weasley worked alongside his friend, but was looking into Quidditch. He was in an on-and-off relationship with Hermione Granger, which had been off for five months.

Hermione Granger was a highly esteemed lawyer, who was apparently now working for Draco Malfoy. She had continued with SPEW and had numerous followers.

Ginny Weasley was a famous Quidditch player, and was in an on-and-off relationship with Harry.

Luna Lovegood was an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries and had grown closer to Ginny throughout the years.

Draco Malfoy was still an arrogant bastard, but a rich arrogant bastard, and Harry was forced to work with his company often.

Blaise Zabini was Malfoy's little accomplice, working as his right hand man.

Pansy Parkinson was an annoying twit who kept trying to hook up with Malfoy, to Harry's confusion and disgust.

So, it was upon reviewing all of this that Tom Marvolo Riddle got an idea. Not just any idea- an idea that would change the lives of eight previously mentioned people.

He was going to play matchmaker.

Now he just needed a way to go about this. He couldn't use magic anymore- it was banned, of course. Maybe Muggle television would bring him inspiration.

He flipped it on and watched some episodes of a stupid Muggle reality show when a commercial came on.

It featured a man who was vaguely familiar to Tom. He had dirty- blonde hair and wide, winning smile. Then Tom remembered- he was the lawyer who had helped argue his cast in court. Jeff Yates or something like that… then the man began to speak.

"Are you bored in home? Alone, wishing that you could do something with your life? Then do I have the opportunity for you!" he pointed at the screen, then it flashed to a desert island. "From the producers of Trading Moms and Fifty Blind Dates brings you Survive That!"

On the screen appeared a pile of cash. "An amazing prize of one million dollars to the winner who can survive it all!"

Then Jeff appeared again. "But we can't do it without contestants- and we need eight lucky people to appear on the first season as soon as possible."

An number appeared on the screen and began to flash. "Call this number NOW to enter your contestants today!"

Then another commercial advertising tortilla chips came on. But Tom wasn't paying attention to that- he was too busy snatching his landline phone and furiously dialing.

"Hello? Jeff?" he said slowly. "It's Tom Riddle- remember me? Yeah… listen. I think I know the _perfect_ eight people for your show."

A/N- Please don't flame this. I PROMISE it won't be OOC. I know this chapter was, but the other characters will be in character.

Please review!

The pretty button is calling you. :)

~Potato


	2. Brightly Colored Envelopes

Disclaimer- Haven't you already read these by now? I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter One- Brightly Colored Envelopes

Hermione sighed as she dropped three small, bronze-plated coins into the miniature leather pouch. The owl hooted softly before taking off in flight again.

Of course, one of the front page articles on the Daily Prophet featured her and Ron's smiling faces being ripped through the center. _Broken Up For Good? _

"Well, yes, yes we are." Hermione said as she went to pour herself another cup of coffee. She was so sick of these newspaper reporters constantly digging into her private life. They call it private for a reason!

Crookshanks meowed as he leaped onto Hermione's kitchen counter and plopped himself on her pile of mail.

"No, Crookshanks, get off." Hermione tugged the papers from underneath his sagging stomach. Work, work, memo… stupid Malfoy kept sending her useless mail! She was about to throw the whole pile into the recycling when she felt a different texture of paper. It was like plastic. Flipping through the junk mail, she found a brightly colored plastic-like envelope. On the front were the words: _Survive That!_ in bright yellow.

"Okay then…" Hermione took a kitchen knife and slit open the top. Out fell two professional-looking documents. One had text, and the other was a form that looked as if it had to be filled out. She picked up the text one first.

_Congratulations_ **Hermione Granger! **

_You, along with seven other people, have been chosen to compete on this year's season of Survive That! Beginning on June 3 you will-_

Hermione dropped the letter and seethed. _Ginny…_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Blaise, will you kindly call Ms. Granger and inquire _why she's not at work today_?" Draco Malfoy sat in a quality leather swiveling chair, which was currently swiveling back and forth in anger. His pale hands were balled into fists and he was glaring at his best mate, who was lounging in another chair in the office.

Blaise popped another grape into his mouth. "Why do you care Draco? It's not like you need her to do anything today, anyway."

Draco spluttered. "But she- she- work… she needs to be here so-"

"-so you can argue with her to no end when everyone really knows you two are really flirting with each other?"

"Y- no! We are not flirting!" Draco fumed.

Blaise smirked as he chewed his grape thoughtfully. "You just keep telling yourself that."

Suddenly, the quality imported, fine- finished wooden doors to Draco's office swung open. A quaking, skinny man entered the room.

"M-m-Mr. Malfoy?" he said.

"What, Martin?" Draco said lazily.

"Mail." The man scurried across the room, placed the pile on his desk, and ran out as quickly as he could.

"Doesn't it… _bother_ you that people are that scared of you Draco?" Blaise said, sending an amused smirk at where the frightened man had previously stood.

"Nah… it's better that way." Draco said as he thumbed through his mail. "Hey- mail for you." He chucked a brightly colored, plastic-like envelope at Blaise. Then he found one of his own.

"What the hell is this?" Blaise asked as he looked at the bright yellow lettering reading _Survive That!_

Draco frowned at his copy. "I don't know."

"Congratualtions Blaise Zabini. You, along with seven other people, have been chosen to compete on this year's season of _Survive That! _Beginning on June 3, you will be dropped off on a deserted island, left to work together with fellow competitors to survive. The winner will be chosen in the end based upon watcher popularity and competition successes. She or he will be rewarded with the grand prize of one million dollars." Blaise read.

Draco followed the text on his letter. "Did you sign me up for this?" he said in a furiously low tone.

"No! Why the hell would I do that?" Blaise said. "Maybe it was Pansy or something."

Then, as if on cue, Draco's cell phone rang. Yes, he had a cell phone. After the war, the wizarding world found interest in Muggle contraptions and modified them using magic. That's what Malfoy Industries now specialized in.

"Hello?" Draco said in a bored tone.

"Draco Malfoy put Blaise on the phone RIGHT NOW!" Pansy Parkinson's high-pitched screech rang in Draco's ears.

Draco ignored her demands. "Does this request have anything to do with a certain sickly bright plastic-y letter you received?" he guessed.

"Ye- How did you know?"

"Happened to receive one of my own." Draco said, twirling it in between his fingers. He put his feet on his desk.

"I am SO not going to that! It says no electronics. That means hair curlers!" She hissed.

"Yeah… Pans? Why don't you just floo?"

"Oh… okay." A moment later, Draco's fireplace flamed green, and Pansy stepped into the room.

"Hey Pans." Blaise greeted.

Pansy gave a little grimace and straightened her mini skirt and tank top. Since Hogwarts, her pug face had disappeared, and Draco had to admit it- she looked hot. Too bad she was such a shallow, clingy, rather annoying priss.

"You got one too?" she screeched, waving her envelope in Blaise's face. "I don't want to go to this! It's Muggle!"

"Calm down, Pansy, look here." Draco pointed to the fine print at the bottom of the letter. "You don't have to go."

"Wait!" Blaise said, standing. "You guys aren't going?"

"Of course not." Draco said with a laugh. "You expect me to go to something like this?" He stabbed the letter with a finger.

"What? Too girly for it?" Blaise taunted. Pansy stepped back. This was not going anywhere that she wanted to get involved in.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know," Blaise said as he began to walk around the room. "You _are _Draco Malfoy. You grew up with enough money to buy out Diagon Alley. You've had designer clothes, perfect hair, and a team of house elves to tend to your every whim. You wouldn't be able to survive on that show for thirty seconds."

Draco stepped out from behind his desk. "If I'm not mistaken, I think that you are questioning my manliness."

"Oh _no_!" Blaise said sarcastically, then dared to step closer to him. "I'm just saying that you can't really, you know, survive on your own. You'll always need someone to depend on."

"Oh, you're going to regret that." Draco drew his wand. Blaise followed suit.

"Wait." Blaise said before Draco could cast anything. "Why don't you just go then? Prove you can do it."

"You know what? I will!" Draco said. "I'll go and I will win, so-"

The door to his office swung open again, interrupting Draco's declaration. Draco's secretary stepped in. "Mr. Malfoy? Mr. Barnes is here to see you about that contract."

Draco nodded, then glared at Blaise. "We will resume this conversation later."

Once the door swung close behind him, both Pansy and Blaise burst into laughter.

"Did- did- did you just do what I think you did?" Pansy said in between peals of laughter.

"I did. I just got Draco to agree to live with us on a deserted island for a Muggle game show." Blaise looked victorious.

"Wait a second- us? Correction: It would _almost_ be worth it to go and see how Draco reacts to the situation. Almost. I am not going." Pansy said.

"Ah, but Pansy, I have an incentive for you too."

Pansy looked haughty. "Blaise, nothing you tell me can make me want to go on that game show."

"Oh really? Imagine this: You and Draco are alone, on the island. Alone. And who knows, maybe you could 'fall down' and 'hurt yourself' and then Draco would have to 'rescue you'."

Pansy didn't hesitate for a moment. "I'm in."

"And I'm glad."

"Well, okay then," Pansy straightened her skirt again before dropping some powder in Draco's fire. "I'll be off." And with that, she left.

Blaise stared at the spot where she was previously stood, and thought to himself: _Whoever signed us up for this is pure genius. _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hello." Hermione gave the receptionist before her a venomous smile, both hands on her desk, towering over her. "May I inquire to see Ginny Weasley?"

The young girl cowered. "O-of course." She pressed a button on her desk. "Ms. Weasley? Someone is here to see you." Hermione walked over to one of the comfy waiting room chairs and sat down.

A moment later, a smiling redhead emerged from the door leading to the offices for the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

"Hey Mione!" she said as she outstretched her arms for a hug.

Hermione stepped back. "Don't 'Mione' me."

"What's wrong?" Ginny looked genuinely confused, but Hermione didn't buy it. She pulled her envelope out of her bag and shoved it into her friend's hands.

"Kindly explain _this_."

Ginny looked at it, then recognition dawned on her. "You got one too?"

Hermione frowned. "What?"

"I got one of these."

"Oh- you did?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, I'm sorry Ginny! I thought you set this up."

"Nah. I gave up on that sort of stuff a year ago."

"Gin, you set me up on a blind date last week."

"Well… that was different."

"Right. Anyway, you said you got one of these?" Hermione grabbed her letter back.

"Yeah, I thought it was Ron or you who applied for me."

"Wait… Ron and Harry? D'you think they got one? The letter says six other contestants besides us."

"I don't know. Let's check!" Ginny turned to the receptionist. "Sally, I'll be back. If Joe asks, I'm at the Auror department." The two scurried up the stairs.

"Wait- Hermione?" Ginny suddenly stopped.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at work today?"

Hermione's eyes bulged. "Oh, Merlin, I'm in for it."

"Don't worry, I'm sure Harry or Ron could lend you an owl." They continued walking. "So, how is it working for Malfoy?"

"Two words: Not. Fun." Hermione said with a grim expression. "He is such an arrogant ferret."

Ginny grinned. "A rich, hot, arrogant ferret."

"I agree with you on the rich part. It's the only reason I'm working for him anyway." Hermione said. "But that prat is the farthest thing from hot."

"Oh, we all know that's a lie." Ginny said as entered the hallway leading to the Auror Department. "His hair is simply gorgeous. Not to mention his eyes…"

"Does someone have a crush?"

Ginny looked at her in disgust. "You make is sound like I'm in second grade. And no, despite his sexiness, I hate his guts."

Hermione grinned. "There's the Ginny I actually enjoy talking to." They reached the door to the department, pushed it open, and were greeted by an angry Harry confronting a trainee.

"No! You can't just up and send people out like that! Kevin, I swear, one day you'll get one of us killed!" Harry's face was red as he shoved a piece of paper into the boy's face. Hermione cleared her throat, and Harry looked up. Immediately, he was embarrassed.

"Oh, hey Hermione." He said sheepishly. "Hi… Ginny."

Hermione could feel the tension between the two. It was that awkward stage right after you break up with someone for the millionth time, but the whole world knows you're going to get back together in the end. She decided to break it. "Hi Harry. We were wondering… could we speak to you in private?" She glanced the boy, who looked relived to no longer be the object of Harry's anger.

"Sure thing. Kevin, you can go tell Seamus what you did," Harry said, then turned to the girls. "My office?"

Once in the cramped room, both Hermione and Ginny pulled out their _Survive That!_ envelopes. "Did you happen to get one of these?" asked Ginny.

"In the mail? I haven't checked yet." Harry said. "Been busy."

"Well, go get it." Hermione pushed. Harry left, then returned later with a large stack of numerous papers.

"Wow… you have been busy."

"New case." He said with a proud shrug. "Anyway… ah, here it is, I did get one!"

"This is too weird." Ginny whispered.

"Why? What is it?"

Hermione passed him her sheet. "It's a game show. We've all been entered for a Muggle game show."

Harry scanned the paper and frowned. "By who?"

"We don't know!" Ginny said. "That's why we're here. Obviously, it wasn't you."

"D'you… d'you suppose it could be Ron?" Harry suggested. "Here, I'll call him in." He pressed a button on his desk similar to Ginny's receptionist's and asked for Ron. A moment later, a tall, gangly young man walked in.

"Yeah, Harry?" he said, then looked down at Ginny and Hermione. "Oh! Hey Ginny… Hermione." The tension between Ron and Hermione was different than Ginny and Harry's because they both new their relationship was over for good.

"Hey mate. Listen, did you happed to get one of these in the mail?" He chucked the envelope at Ron, who caught it easily. He was vying for a keeper spot on a Quidditch team.

"These? Oh yeah, almost threw it away. It was lodged between some stupid ads." Ron glanced at it. "Why?"

"Someone entered us for a Muggle game show." Ginny answered.

Hermione sighed. "And, evidently, it wasn't you either."

"I can barely use my cell phone," said Ron, "you expect me to know how to enter us into a Muggle game show?"

"True, true." The four sat in silence, then it was suddenly interrupted by Harry's cell phone ringing. He picked it up.

"Hello?"

"_Hello, Harry, it's Luna." _

"Hi Luna, what's up?"

"_I don't know where my boss went, so I was wondering if you could possibly tell him I will be absent for about a month starting on June third." _

"Let me guess- you're going to a deserted island to compete in a Muggle game show?"

"_How'd you know?"_

"I got an invitation too. So did Ron, Ginny, and Hermione."

"_Oh that's wonderful! We can all study the Forgaments together." _

"Uh… sure. But I'll tell Mr. Rice you'll be gone."

"_Thanks Harry!"_

_Click._

"Oh, that's great, Luna's coming!" Ginny exclaimed.

"So we're going?" Ron said.

"We are?" said Ginny.

"Well, you just implied that."

Harry stepped in. "I think we should."

"Harry, for all you know, this could be an elaborate set-up by a Death Eater to capture us all." Hermione pointed out in a practical tone.

Harry laughed. "Mione, the only Death Eaters still at large are Crabbe, Goyle, Rockwood, and Lestrange. I doubt, even with their combined brain power, they could come up with something this good."

Hermione had a doubtful look on her face. "I don't know… Bellatrix…"

"Hermione, think about it. They wouldn't come close to anything Muggle." Ron said. "I think we should go."

"So do I," Ginny agreed. "According to this letter, it's only a couple weeks, a month at most. It varies on what goes on. I don't have any games for another month and a half because it's not Quidditch season."

Harry nodded. "The most I'm doing now is trainees."

Hermione smirked. "What happened to that big case?"

"Okay, that was an excuse to make up for the lack of mail-checking on my part." Harry blushed.

Ron grinned. "I'm going then, if you're going. You're my boss."

Hermione looked doubtful. "I don't know… Malfoy probably won't let me."

"Oh, right…" Ginny said. "But you don't do much anyway, do you?"

"No. Mostly useless paperwork and arguing."

"Then tell him you want a vacation break. Don't you get a month off every year?" Ron asked.

"Yeah…" she still looked doubtful. "But since when does Malfoy follow the rules?"

"Just try," said Ginny. "The worst he can do is say no."

"Okay," said Hermione. "I will."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Malfoy, I was sick!" Hermione insisted, tapping her high heel impatiently. "Ever heard of eating spoiled food?"

"Ew, no." Draco said. He was behind his desk again, addressing Hermione's morning absence. "I always have my house elves try it first."

Hermione's eyes went stormy in fury. Draco enjoyed doing this to her, she looked rather cute when she was angry… sort of. "You arrogant little-"

"You know what Granger? I'll let you off this once. Because I'm in a good mood. You see, I'm vacationing for the next month, starting on June third. No more dealing with prudes like you."

Hermione's expression changed from one of hostility to pure delight. "You are? That's great, because I was about to ask you if I could go on vacation on June third."

"You were? Where?"

"An island." Here was where Malfoy got worried. Could she possibly have gotten the same invitation he did?

"With who?"

"Well, Malfoy, I have these things called friends. I don't know if you've ever heard of them, bu-"

"Oh, shut up, you can go." There was no way anyone would invite Granger onto a game show anyway. She'd probably spend the whole time _reading._

"I can?" She couldn't hide her surprised tone.

"Yeah. If I'm going to be gone, it's not we need you," he paused. "Plus, if I said no, you'd probably get my house elves to go on strike against me."

She smirked. "So true, so true. You're learning! Well, I'll just get back to work then." She was about to exit his office when he stopped her.

"What- no thank you?"

She didn't even look back, just kept walking. "Nope."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Well, I'm liking this story so far, personally. I think my writing is getting better, but don't trash on that. I'm only thirteen. :)

Usually, in my pretty blue outline journal, I outline all of my stories because a certain two people (*cough* Draco and Hermione *cough*) like to take matters into their own hands and I get lost. Well, with this story, I just have bunch of ideas that are floating all over the place, along with an elaborately confusing love octagon.

Just thought you should know that in case of slow updates.

NOW REVIEW! Please. Pretty button (or as one of my reviewers thought I wrote, the belly button XD) is begging you to press it. (Sorry if the 'press me' is off center.)

Press me! Press me!


	3. Arrival Gifts

A/N- Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, or Pride and Prejudice, or airline peanut packaging.

Chapter 2- Arrival Gifts

"So… can I bring books?" Hermione asked, pushing her sweater down as hard as she could.

Ginny scanned her checklist. "It doesn't say you can't." The two were in Hermione's flat, packing their bags. The rules for Survive That said that you could pack as much as you wanted in a small duffel bag that they had provided. This proved a challenge for both girls.

"I can't fit Pride and Prejudice in here!" Hermione groaned, trying to shove it down.

"Mione, why do you need a book? It's an island, I doubt you're going to have time to read."

"I wouldn't be talking, Ms. Of Course I Need My Mascara!" Hermione said, giving up with the book. "Fine. No reading."

"Good. Well anyway, you need to finish soon because-" Ginny was interrupted by a loud, urgent knock on the door. "-they'll be coming soon!" She raced to go open the door, Hermione hot on her heels. Wrenching it open, Ginny revealed a tall, blonde woman who seemed to be somewhere in her thirties and a skinny cameraman.

"Hello! You must be Ginny Weasley, and… Hermione?" the blonde woman asked. The two girls nodded. "Goodie! I remembered from your acceptance forms! Hi, I'm Cindy. Cindy Merridew." She outstretched her hand for them to shake, and they accepted. (A/N- Yes, I will be using the name Cindy Merridew in all of my fics that I have an OC in. XD)

"Paul, come here, get a shot." Cindy gestured to the cameraman, who complied. "Hello, Cindy here, along with two of our four female contestants, Ms. Ginny Weasley and Ms. Hermione Granger!"

They both waved awkwardly at the camera. Cindy grinned at their hesitancy. "Come now, no need to be shy. Let's go see what you've packed."

"This way," Hermione said, leading them to her room. She gestured at her messy bed, covered in things she couldn't pack. She silently thanked the fact that she had packed her wand underneath her bras. Like they were going to look down there.

"Ah!" Cindy picked up her discarded copy of Pride and Prejudice. "Couldn't fit?"

Hermione nodded.

"Oh, too bad," Cindy turned to the camera. "Hermione is quite the bookworm, excelling in all of her academic goals and even graduating first in her class!"

Hermione glared at Ginny, knowing that she had probably revealed that. Ginny smiled sheepishly.

Cindy continued. "Which is quite opposite to Ginny, who is more of the glamour girl, but also plays professional sports. The two insist that they are best of friends, but could being trapped on the island change this?"

Both Hermione and Ginny shook their heads furiously. "Oh no. Mione will always be my friend."

Cindy winked. "Don't think we missed that little glare Hermione sent you, dear." She whispered.

Hermione gave an inaudible groan. What kind of drama-fest did they get themselves into?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"No, no, no! If I can't bring all of _this_," Draco gestured at his hair-care products, "I will be utterly pissed."

Blaise laughed. "Get over it, mate. The list says no!"

"Damn Muggles." Draco muttered. "Just because they can survive with their hair being a filthy mess doesn't mean that we all can!"

"You're going to need to work on your attitude. You are soon going to be on national television!"

"Not until tomorrow."

"Not quite." Blaise said with a grin. "I called them. They're coming to film us packing."

"What? Blaise Zabini, I am one day going to kill you in your sleep. And then you will regret making my life hell!" Then the Manor's doorbell rang, loud and low in the echoing halls. They were here.

"If I'm dead, how do I regret it?"

"Stop being so damn smart and get the door." Draco said, trying to shove his conditioner into the duffel bag's pocket. A moment later, Blaise arrived with a dirty-blonde host, a nervous- looking cameraman, and a very chatty Pansy Parkinson.

Draco leaned over to whisper in Blaise's ear. "I hate you."

"Get over it."

"Hello!" The dirty-blonde man came over and held his hand out for Draco to shake. Draco gave it a look of extreme distaste, but unwillingly shook it anyway. The man didn't seem to notice. "I'm Jeff. Jeff Yates, co-host of Survive That."

Draco gave a half-hearted smile. "Draco. Malfoy."

"Nice place you got yourself here. What's your occupation?" Jeff said, while instructing the cameraman to get some shots of the Manor.

"I'm a businessman." Draco said venomously. "Own a company."

"Ah, so you're used to the high-and-mighty rich boy life, are you?" Jeff winked at Blaise.

"I suppose you could say that." Draco liked this man less and less with every second.

"Yes, you could," Pansy interrupted. "But back to what I was saying."

"Ah, yes! Ms. Parkinson here claims that there is some unsolved romantic tension between her and Draco." Jeff said to the camera.

_Unsolved romantic tension? What is that supposed to mean? _thought Draco.

Pansy continued. "Yes, well, we were in a relationship for quite awhile-"

"Pansy, we dated for a week in school." Draco corrected.

"Oh?" Jeff said, surprised. Pansy glared at him.

"Yeah, now we're just friends." Draco said. "No romantic feelings at all."

"But Pansy seems to disagree," Jeff insisted. "Are you sure?"

"Very. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish packing. Don't you have other contestants to go bother?"

Jeff looked slightly appalled. "Well… yes, I suppose. Nat, let's go." And with that, he and the cameraman left.

Once they were gone, Blaise burst into laughter. "Oh, Draco, the public's gonna love you!"

Pansy looked furious. "What the hell Draco! You were supposed to play along! Drama is what they _look_ for."

Draco just flung his hands in the air and fell back onto his armchair. "Stupid Muggles!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"You were right, Tom. He's certainly going to be fun." Jeff said brightly into his cell phone.

Voldemort chuckled on the other side of the phone line. "Yeah, he's a handful. You see why I said to pair him up with her?"

"Can't say that yet. Haven't met her, but from what I read in her acceptance form, she's definitely capable of handling him."

"Well, I know them both. I know all of them, so stick with the couples I gave you. Even though it may not seem like it at times, trust me."

"Well, most would say that you're the last person anyone should trust, but I will. This is certainly going to be an… _interesting_ first season."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Yes, well, I am pretty well-known," Harry said as he tugged on his jacket. "I work for the police force, see, and recently solved a big case."

Jeff nodded, pretending to buy Harry's story. He knew, of course, that this was the famous Harry Potter, but had to pretend he was a Muggle. He turned to Ron. "And you- you helped him?"

Ron gave a fake modest shrug. "I was, y'know, there, and yeah, I helped quite a bit."

"No need to be modest, boys! We all want to know about it." Nat the cameraman gave an overenthusiastic nod in response to Jeff's words.

"Well…" and the launched into a slightly Muggle-modified version of the Final War.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"I am so happy to be leaving." Hermione said breathlessly, taking one last look at her office before slamming the door shut. Spinning around, she ran into the looming figure of Blaise Zabini.

"Oh! Sorry, Blaise," she said. The two were on first-name terms, as Blaise was one of the few people in Malfoy's company who would actually talk to Hermione. The rest were too busy, stuck-up, or scared. Hermione was quite intimidating in her high heels.

"Hey Hermione," he said. "What're you doing?"

"Just packing up my office. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Oh, yes, Draco told me. So am I."

Hermione squinted slightly. Could he be… "Are you-" she stopped. No, he couldn't be going to the game show. Anyone who knew her, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Luna well enough to enter them in a game show would know that it wasn't a good idea to stick them there with Slytherins. She shuddered at the thought.

"Am I what?" Blaise asked.

"Oh, nothing. I've really got to get going now, it's late." Hermione rushed. "I have dinner plans."

"Okay then. Bye, Hermione."

"Bye."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Hermione laughed when she saw the directions on the airline packet of peanuts:

_Step One: Open bag._

_Step Two: Eat peanuts. _

What else were you supposed to do?

"What's so funny, Hermione?" Harry asked. Hermione leaned across the cramped airplane aisle and pointed out the directions on the food. He chuckled. It reminded Hermione of the day at the Ministry that they had agreed to go on the game show, and they filled out their acceptance forms. It was a good thing the show had provided two forms, because Harry had fun with the first one:

**Health **

Please list all that apply:

Health Issues: _Urinary dysfunctions_

Mental Issues: _Multiple personalities (No you don't! Yes I do! No you don't! Stop talking to me, voices!)_

Allergies: _Peanut butter, certain grasses, Lord Voldemort_

Physical Impairment: _Er… glasses? I also am incapable of wiggling my left pinky toe._

**About You**

Personal Goals: _I want to get wasted every night straight for a week. Oh, you mean like life goals? I suppose getting a nice job and settling down with a family might be worthwhile…_

One Adjective That Describes You: _My friends call me special._

What Makes You Unique? _I am the Boy-Who-Lived!_

Academic Achievements: _I managed to cheat off Hermione six times without getting caught._

Describe You: _I was the face of hope in the darkest of times. I was the ray of light in those looming shadows. I was the one person who everyone else turned to in moments of extreme despair. I was Harry Potter. That being said, I also see myself as a rather modest person. _

**Other**

Criminal Record: _Okay, fine! One time, I drove 67 mph when the speed limit was 65. And I might have murdered a couple Death Eaters here and there… _

Occupation: _I rid the world of evil._

Special abilities: _I can do magic. Ooo- And I'm double- jointed! _

Hermione laughed again, this time a little quieter.

Ginny, who had been sleeping next to her, woke up. "Are we there yet?" she said groggily.

Hermione checked her watch. "Not quite. About ten more minutes, I think." She looked at her attire again. She had dressed as sensibly as possible, seeing as they were probably going to put them to work right as they got there. She was wearing an old t-shirt and capris, wavy hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

Ginny was wearing something similar, but she had insisted on doing her make-up to perfection. She wasn't a big girly-girl, but she liked to look good.

Harry and Ron were on the other side of the old plane, laughing and joking while pointed into the newest issue of _Witch Weekly_, which they had charmed to look like a Muggle magazine. It featured an article about the hottest bachelorette witches of the year. Hermione happened to know that Harry and Ron had been on the bachelor list at least once, and Draco Malfoy numerous times. Even when he was dating someone, he was still on the list.

Luna was sitting alone behind them, reading the Quibbler, which she now managed as a side job. Although Luna's quirkiness had subsided slightly over the years, she was still the same eccentric girl from Hogwarts. Her blonde hair was wavy now, hanging freely down her back and reaching her waist. Her blue eyes were pale, but wide, and she had a wonderful smile. She had grown into quite a beautiful young woman in the four years since school.

As for the other three contestants, they hadn't received any news on them. Apparently, they were from London too, but had a private jet to take them. The lucky ones.

There was a little _ping!_ from above as the pilot began to speak: _Attention passengers, we will be landing soon. Please prepare for arrival. _

Hermione loosened her seat belt slightly and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She nudged Ginny awake. "We're here!" Just as she said it, she could feel the plane's wheels touching firm land. Then it jerked, bumped, and settled to a standstill. "Merlin, I hate these bloody Muggle contraptions." Ron had muttered. The five friends unbuckled and prepared to get off when two familiar faces popped into the doorway. It was Cindy and Jeff.

"Hello!" Jeff said. "We're here! You have just landed on the side of the island that is closest to the outside world. We installed a landing strip here, but the rest of the island has no modern technology at all. We have just received news that the other contestants are arriving now…" he faltered as wind began howling outside. The other plane was here.

"I'll go greet them!" Cindy volunteered.

"Okay then, let's go." Jeff said, leading the five down the plane stairs and onto the island. They were on a strip of cement, quite in contrast to the thick forest right next to them. On the other side was sparkling clear blue water, reaching as far as they could see.

"They seem like the snooty type." Ron said, leaning over to Hermione. It was true- the jet was shiny, new, and looked to have cost a fortune.

"Ron, don't judge them until you've met them!" Hermione whispered back. Thank goodness there weren't any cameras around to hear that… They could probably make it sound scandalous and assume that Ron automatically hated the other contestants.

A moment later, the jet door opened, and Cindy walked out. Behind her came three completely unexpected people.

First was a light- brown haired young woman who was wearing a skimpy tank top and short- shorts. She had enormous sunglasses on, which she lifted onto her head of hair, revealing a heavily made- up face. She looked oddly familiar.

Next came a slightly darker skinned man with a more familiar body build to Hermione. He was wearing sunglasses and a ball cap, though, so Hermione couldn't tell who he was.

Lastly, walking with a saunter and displaying a haughty disposition was someone that Hermione did recognize. And he was the last person that she wanted to see.

Once the three caught sight of Hermione, Harry, Ron, Luna, and Ginny, and they got a good look at them, there was the quite comical sight of eight jaws promptly falling at once, then eight backpacks simultaneously dropping to the ground.

"_Granger?"_

"_Malfoy?_"

"Potter!"

"Zabini…"

"_Lovegood_?"

"Weasley?"

"Weaselette!"

"Parkinson?"

Jeff watched the scene unfold with a huge grin on his face. "Great- so you all know each other?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Ah, that was fun. In case you were wondering, they are all 21, except Ginny and Luna, who are 20. They lied, however, on their forms and put 20.

The application idea came from the fic "Harry Potter Signs Up For Life Insurance" or something like that. Go look at it. It's quite funny.

READ PLEASE: Hey, could you guys give me ideas for things that should happen on the game show? I have a few, like hut- building and first aid and stuff, but I need more. Like things they did on Survivor and shows like that. Please! Thanks!

PLEASE REVIEW! I love all of your reviews! You guys are responding so much! Thanks!

~Potato


	4. Shelters

A/N- At the end of the last chapter, I put that Ginny and Luna were 20 and lied, saying they were 20. That was a typo! I meant to say that they lied and said they were 21. Ginny and Ron said they were twins.

Sorry this chapter was a little later than usual, I was finishing up DHRFF and writing the sequel! :)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter 3- Shelter

"Kn- know each other?" Harry stuttered, gaping at Jeff. "I… suppose you could say that."

"Oh, we more than know each other," Draco seethed, daring to take one step closer to the five friends. "We despise each other."

Nat was practically drinking the scene in with his camera, desperately trying to get every angle possible with his partner, Carl. Hermione tried to avoid the camera's gaze, not wanting the rest of the world to see the fury etched onto her face. _Malfoy? They accepted Malfoy? And to think I came here to escape him…_

"You despise one another?" Cindy said, stepping into the conversation. "Why?" She gestured for Carl to come get a close- up of their faces.

"We don't despise each other!" Hermione said cheerfully, bringing herself into the argument. She silently cursed the others for their angry faces, betraying her words. "It was a silly school rivalry."

"You all went to the same school?" Cindy said, sounding even more interested.

"Yeah, yeah," Ron said, waving away her question. "But it was more than a rivalry, Hermione, we hated each other! Remember in fourth year when he-"

But he was cut off by a warning look at Ginny- if he mentioned the bucktooth incident, it might give away their magic. "- when he… smashed his sandwich in your hair?" he finished lamely.

Draco smirked. "We really should let go of such childish things, Weasel."

"Ferret."

"Prat." Joined Harry.

"You know what? I'm done here. We're leaving." Draco turned around and began to walk up the stairs to his jet, motioning for Blaise and Pansy to follow. Blaise had quietly watched his friend blew up, while Pansy had stood in shock. "Why aren't you coming?"

Blaise grinned. "Sorry mate. We can't leave." Pansy's face paled at these words.

"Why not?" Draco challenged.

"Contract! Acceptance form!" Blaise sang. "You signed it." Jeff grinned at nodded at his words. "He's right."

Draco groaned. "You cannot expect us to stay here, alone, here on the island without killing each other."

"Yeah," supported Harry. "I bet ten galle- pounds," he corrected, "that half of us will be dead in the course of the next week."

Luna spoke for the first time since they had gotten there. "I don't have a problem with it."

Ron turned and gaped at her. "Why the hell not?"

"Well, Ronald, maybe because she grew up!" Hermione said.

"Come off of it, Hermione, you complain about how bad of a boss he is every day after work! You cannot tell me that you do not find this situation completely repulsive."

"Of course I find it repulsive! Do you think I _want _to be here?"

"Well, it's not any better in our shoes!" Pansy called from the other side.

"I can tell, just look at those," Ginny said, staring at Pansy's strappy high heels. "Why would you wear those bloody things on a deserted island? You look like a right tramp!"

Cindy leaned over to Nat, a wide grin plastered on her face. "Look at them. I was wrong- we don't even need to provoke them. Just lock them in a room for an hour and we'll have all the drama we need!" Nat nodded in agreement, only to have Cindy snap at him to stop talking and keep filming.

"Excuse me? Did I just hear that from Ginny Weasley, who happened to have a new boyfriend every week at Hogwarts?" Pansy snapped back, tapping her heel on the pavement. "Not to mention Potter here, who you break up with every other day, probably so you can just shag another man."

Harry glared at her words. "Parkinson, you take that back right now before-"

"-I sock the lights out of you!" Ron finished. "No one speaks to my sister like that." He began to approach Pansy, who cowered behind Blaise, when Jeff interrupted with a large, fake smile.

"Well, well, I think that this has gone far enough. Let's cut now." He whispered at Carl. He nodded and turned the cameras off. "Well!" he said, now addressing his contestants. "Wasn't that… interesting."

"I beg to differ," Draco said. "Interesting doesn't seem to be the right word."

"More like the unbelievable and repulsed." Offered Ginny.

"Excuse me?" Luna said, tapping Cindy on the shoulder. "Do you happen to know if there are any Forgaments native to this area?" Cindy gave her a confused and slightly bothered look, then shook her head. "Oh." Luna said sadly.

Cindy walked over to where the other seven people were waiting, glaring at each other. "Let me clear some things up," she said. "So all of you went to the same school- right?"

Harry nodded. "A boarding school, for seven years. It was called…" he paused. Would it be harmful to use the name?

"Pigwarts." Ginny cut in, smiling at Cindy's confused face in reaction to the name. "It was an acting school, of sorts. All types of performing arts. Very private, very secretive. I doubt you've ever heard of it."

"No, I haven't. And this… _rivalry_ you have. Could you explain it? Just between us, we need to have everything clarified." Cindy smiled and flipped a blonde lock behind her shoulders.

This is where Hermione stepped in. She didn't want anyone else to give anything away. "Well, at our school, they divided all the students into four groups based on our personality. Luna was in the Eagle group. Me, Ron, Harry, and Ginny were in the Lion group. Parkinson, Malfoy, and Blaise were in the Snake group. The Lions and Snakes were always rivals, and we were large examples of that." She smiled at the other's reactions to her improvisation.

"I see…" Cindy said. "Wait- why do you call Pansy and Draco by their last names and not Blaise?"

Hermione blushed slightly. "Blaise and I work together."

"So do we, Granger!" Draco said.

"Yeah, but you're my boss. And a pain in the arse."

"Oh- she works for you?" Cindy asked.

"Yea-"

"Sort of," Hermione interrupted. "I'm a lawyer, and he hired me for his company. It seems like he _enjoys_ getting into legal trouble."

"Uh-huh," Cindy was loving every minute of this conversation, but Nat was motioning for her to get the show started. "Well, I would love to chat more, but we really must get going. Why don't you follow Jeff?" The eight nodded, then walked over to where Jeff had just finished polishing the camera lens. He grinned. "Let's go!"

As they traipsed through the underbrush, Jeff gave a short explanation of what they were going to be doing. "So, you all will be filmed when you are doing activities, having important conversations, or competing. Sometimes you might be filmed when you aren't aware of it, so be careful of what you say." He paused to duck underneath a large branch. "We are currently heading to a relatively clear spot on the island, near the middle. It is where we will be doing most of our group meetings and such things."

Draco leaned into Blaise. He was ignoring everything Jeff was saying. "I want to kill you right now. I have my wand in my back pocket, they'll never know what happened. You and you're stupid bets. You knew it would hurt my pride! You knew!"

Blaise just chuckled. "You'll thank me some day."

"I will not thank you, you bloody son of a-"

"And we're here!" Jeff announced, waving his arm at the clearing in the shape of a circle. It had various logs scattered on the ground. "Have a seat." They did as they were told.

Pansy looked positively disgusted. "It's so dirty!" She tried her best to position herself so she wouldn't splinter her butt, due to the shortness of her shorts.

"Yeah… it's an island." Jeff said. "Anyway, once Cindy gets here, I will explain what you all will be doing."

Hermione whispered to Ginny, who was sitting next to her. "Ron hasn't spoken in a while. Do you think something's wrong?"

Ginny gave a light laugh. "Oh, nothing, besides the fact that his enemies are stuck on an island with him. You know his temper."

"But Harry's over it."

"Harry's not Ron. Plus, Harry has to interact with Malfoy's company for work."

"True, true."

On the other side of the clearing, Blaise was taking in his fellow contestants. Potter and Weasley had never been his favorite two people in the world, but they had never done anything that bad to him. Although with Draco as your best mate, you can't help but hate the two.

Hermione was neutral. They were friends, in a way, at work. She was still that know-it-all from school though, or as Draco liked to call her, the frizzhead bucktoothed prude. Yeah, being friends with Draco really did change your views on people.

Ginny Weasley was new territory to Blaise. They never did talk, but from what he heard, she could be a sneaky, conniving little vixen. She was considerably pretty, but Blaise didn't think he'd try anything, considering her current position with Potter.

Luna Lovegood was… weird. He couldn't figure her out. Sometimes she'd be normal, then all random again, then quiet. She was quite beautiful in an innocent way now, but her character was just… odd. There was no other way to explain it.

Just then, the bushes rustled, and out came Cindy, followed by Nat and Carl. She smiled. "And- action!"

Hermione gasped as they began to film again. They didn't even give them a warning! Looking to her right, it seemed as if they others agreed.

"Well, we're back with our contestants who are here in the Clearing, ready to receive the news on their little mission." Cindy said to the camera. "They will be paired up and sent out to find themselves shelter for tonight!"

Jeff grinned. "Yes, they will be sent out by themselves on the island for the first time to find a suitable place to spend the night. It must be big enough for four people maximum and two people minimum."

Draco looked horrified. It had just dawned on him that there were no king-sized beds out here. No quality silk sheets, no goose- feather pillows. No house elves. Nothing.

Blaise noticed his friend's expression and chuckled. "Just realized it, didn't you?"

Draco gulped and nodded slowly.

"Okay, so we have Blaise going with Ginny. Harry will go with Luna. Ron with Draco and Hermione with Pansy. You have half an hour, starting now!" Jeff rushed this all, leaving the eight people still in shock. "Uh, you're supposed to go now."

Slowly, Hermione stood. "Right. Come on… Pansy."

"Don't call me that, Mud- Granger…" she faltered. Figuring it would be best to go now, she scurried out of the clearing, following Hermione's retreating back.

Harry and Luna followed suit, then Blaise and Ginny. They all headed in separate directions.

"Well, come on Malfoy, we better go." Ron said with a frown etched onto his face.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Weasley." Malfoy said, staying quite stationary on his log.

"Malfoy!" he hissed. "You have to! It's part of the game. Stop being an arrogant prat and just get up."

Jeff was trying his best not to laugh at Draco's display of disobeying. "Draco- you have to go."

Wrinkling his nose in the way a first- grader would, Draco unwillingly stood and sneered at Ron. "Fine. I'll go because the blonde airhead here says I have to."

Once gone, Jeff burst into peals of laughter. Tom was so right on a number of levels.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Listen Mudblood," Pansy hissed at Hermione as they walked. Nat had just finished filming them inspect a prospective shelter, and they had tried their best to act like they could get along. Once he had left, they dropped the charade and went right back to venomous glares. "I want you to stay away from my Drakie."

Hermione almost tripped over a branch in her effort not to laugh. "Me? Away from Draco?"

"You heard me, filthy Muggle-born." Pansy said, carefully lifting her sharp heel out of the muddy ground.

"Uh- huh… and what makes you think I'm even vaguely interested in the likes of him?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I'm just trying to make it clear to you. It's the only reason I came here, to be with Draco."

"You can have him. I don't want him." Hermione said pointedly.

"That's what they all say! And then slowly, in time, you will fall for him! You're the good girl, he's the bad boy, he's your boss, but you can easily outsmart him." Pansy stopped to point a finger in Hermione's face. "You may know every spell in the book, but I know what type of people make good couples. And I'm just scared that might be you two." And with that, she twirled around and continued walking, calling behind her: "Come on, let's pick out a nice cave and get this done with!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"So… never talked to you much." Blaise said, trying to start a conversation with the currently furious redhead who was stalking her way through the forest in front of him.

"Hmm, I wonder why?" Ginny said. "Maybe because you were a _Slytherin_ and Draco Malfoy's _best friend_?"

"Hey!" Blaise ran to catch up with her. "Don't hold that against me. I'm not your enemy."

"And what a good job you've done expressing that." Ginny slapped some mosquitoes leering in front of her face.

"Listen, I'm friends with Hermione, remember? I've done nothing wrong. And I don't want another enemy on this godforsaken island already." Blaise tried to catch her gaze, but she refused to look.

"Right… I forgot about that. Well, okay then." Ginny smiled brightly.

"Are you bipolar or something?"

"No! I just… am capable of changing my mind quickly. Hey look, this would make a good place to sleep." Ginny pointed at a small clearing in the forest, guarded from all sides by trees and bushes. "A bit risky, but that comes with the whole idea of being stranded on an island, right?"

"Yeah… I suppose we're done, then?"

"Right. What do we do now?"

"I don't know. Talk?" Blaise sat down on the ground and Ginny followed suit.

"You know, you don't strike me as such a Slytherin." She said. "Look- you're not even afraid to sit in the dirt."

Blaise chuckled. "I've changed. So has everyone, even people like Draco."

"Not from what Hermione tells me."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "You should hear those two. _You're such an arrogant prat! You're such a know-it-all prude! I hate you! I hate you more! I detest you and resent the fact I accepted this job! I question what state my mind was in when I hired you!_ I swear, they aren't even arguing. Half the time they're flirting with each other and don't even know it."

"Really?" Ginny cocked a ginger eyebrow. "I didn't know that."

"Obviously. I think they're kind of meant to be."

Ginny laughed. "I doubt it. Then again, I've never seen them together much."

"Well, prepare to see a lot of it now- and sometimes, it's not too pretty."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Harry smiled at Luna, who was skipping merrily along the sand. "Hey Luna- shouldn't we be looking for a shelter?"

"Oh, we'll come across one eventually."

"Luna, we have a time limit."

"Time is but a number!" Luna spun, her long skirt flaring around her.

Harry ran up to her. "Come on, let's go this way." He headed towards some rocky land. "So… how's work?"

"Fine."

"What do you do?"

"Harry, I'm an Unspeakable. I can't tell you."

"Come on! I'm Harry Potter."

"And I'm Luna Lovegood. That still doesn't change anything, now does it?" Luna looked at him, eyes twinkling in mirth.

"Touché." They walked around a little longer, investigating crooks and indents in the rocks, looking for one big enough. As Luna had said, they soon found an alcove big enough for people to sleep in, and settled on that.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ron and Draco had been walking in silence for ten minutes, and Ron was having enough of it. He got fidgety and nervous when things were too quiet. He had to say something soon.

"Er… Malfoy? We have to talk eventually."

"What if I don't want to?" Draco said silkily.

"Too bad. We're working together."

"Don't remind me."

Another moment of silence. "So… how has work been?"

"Weasley, you don't see me asking you questions about your private life every five seconds!"

"Well, you could."

"Fine- how are things with Granger?" Draco didn't know why Hermione was the first thing that popped up in his mind, but it was too late to go back and change it.

Ron was slightly taken aback by this question. "Well… it's not exactly private, now is it? We're broken up, yeah, and I don't think she wants to get back together."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "_She_ doesn't want to get back together? You do?"

Ron looked embarrassed. "Well… not exactly. Sort of- I mean, what kind of a guy doesn't miss having a girl in his life?"

Draco shrugged. "Listen, I'm done talking to you. What do you say we prop some sticks against a boulder and say we're done."

Ron nodded. "I'm not one for manual labor anyway."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Okay! So, all of your selected shelters look competent enough… even Ron and Draco's, which just barely passed our structure tests." Jeff said to the group, glancing warily at the shack that Ron and Draco had built. "So, as it is now getting late, I will assign you your sleeping partners and we shall depart for slumber! Next morning, you should hear a conch shell blow, and you will get more information about things that will be happening here on the island."

The eight nodded. They were tired after all the walking and drama that had gone on.

Cindy smiled. "After talking to you all, I decided to make you as happy as possible on your first night here. So, here: Harry with Ginny, Blaise with Luna, Draco with Pansy, and Ron with Hermione. Here are your shelters: Harry and Ginny will have the shack, Blaise and Luna will have the forest clearing, Draco and Pansy will have the beach alcove, and Ron and Hermione will have the mini cave. You may leave."

Everyone inwardly groaned a bit. So much for her trying to make them happy.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N- I am having second thoughts about the pairings I chose now. O.e I don't need that now! If you guys want to guess the couples, go vote on my profile!

If you have any questions, or are confused about anything, just tell me!

Thanks for all of the ideas, I will be using some! Keep them coming! They can be from any show, not just Survivor.

Thanks! Review!

~Potato


	5. Tour of the Island

A/N –I WANT TO CLEAR UP SOMETHING! Two reviewers thought that I was having second thoughts about all the couples. THIS FIC IS STILL DRAMIONE! I was having second thoughts about two of my secondary couples… I'll see where they take me. This is still Draco/Hermione, otherwise I would have changed the Draco and Hermione character choice and the romance genre.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter 4- Tour of the Island

Hermione lay on the cold stone floor, staring up at the rock that was her ceiling. "Ron, you couldn't do anything better than this?"

Ron shuffled slightly underneath his jackets. They had to make beds out of their clothes, and Ron had used most of Hermione's. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't bring that much clothes. Stop complaining."

"I'm not complaining! I mean, you're a wizard, can't you make a better bed than this?"

Ron turned to face her. "You're always complaining about how incompetent I am in everything! Just because you're perfect in every way and got top marks in every class doesn't mean I did, okay?"

Hermione was silent, then a small sniff could be heard. "Ron, I'm sorry, okay? Obviously, we weren't meant to be together, we can't stop arguing. But I want us to be friends, okay? The way things used to be."

Ron didn't respond. It was the typical 'it's over but let's be friends' speech. He honestly didn't want them to be over, it was her that had ended it.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"A response, perhaps?"

"I'm tired."

Hermione tried her best not to roll her eyes. "Okay. Me too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Blaise blinked into the darkness. He was laying on his back, staring at the roof of trees that shielded him from the night sky. "Lovegood- are you awake?"

"No."

He blinked again.

"Blaise, I wonder sometimes why people ask that question. It's like when a dentist asks you how you're doing when he's working on your teeth."

"What's a dentist?"

"Nothing… and call me Luna."

"Okay."

"Anyways, yes, I'm awake."

"I kind of figured that out on my own."

"You like Ginny Weasley, huh?"

"What? No."

"I think so."

"Luna, I've only talked to her once. That's like someone assuming I like you because we had this one conversation."

"You like me?"

"No!"

"Who do you like?"

"You make it sound like we're in primary school."

"Fine then- who are you infatuated with? Who do you feel lovingly towards? Who do you wish could be your significant other? Which person makes your-"

"I get the point."

"Then answer me."

"No! We could be on film."

"We aren't being filmed right now."

"How do you know?"

"I checked."

"How did you- never mind."

"Are you going to tell me then?"

"No! This could be recorded in some other way."

"How?"

"It could… be… written down!"

"Really Blaise? Written down?"

"Yes."

"You're in denial."

"Am not."

"Yes you are. You and Draco both."

"Draco?"

"Hermione."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"How would you know about them, Luna? You barely know Draco."

"It's simple really. I pay attention to everything about a person's actions. Whenever Hermione goes on about what an awful boss Draco is, her eyes seem to flare up and she starts speaking really fast. She fidgets with her fingers a lot, bites her lower lip, and twirls her hair. Then, very rarely, she'll drift off like she's imagining something for just a split second, then jerk herself back again."

"It's pretty scary how you know that."

"The art of attentiveness can be a dangerous thing."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Draco's face was contorted with disgust as Pansy snuggled herself farther into his arms. It was no secret that the previously pug-faced girl had a frightening obsession with him, but it was just his luck that he had gotten paired up with her for the night.

Pansy had claimed that it was 'cold' out and she needed someone to 'give her warmth'. Draco knew for a fact that it was not cold in the least- the alcove was secluded and the entry faced the opposite direction than that the wind was blowing.

"Drakie?"

"What."

"You're very warm."

"It's nice to know that I'm worth nothing but a pillow."

"Oh, but you're not," Pansy ran a finger down Draco's arm. He jerked it away.

"Stop your pathetic attempts to seduce me woman, and go to sleep."

Pansy pursed her lips and scooted an inch away from him. Sniffing slightly, she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

Draco rolled his eyes. Stupid Blaise and his deceiving Slytherin ways that got him onto this island.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Harry could easily see the starry night sky through the gaping holes in the pitiful shack Ron and Draco put together. It was freezing cold, which put Ginny and Harry in the awkward situation of having to snuggle.

"Harry?" Ginny's voice came from behind him. They were laying back-to-back.

"Yeah?"

"Do you hate me?"

"No, of course not."

"You told me you did." Her voice was small.

"Gin, you threw a curling iron at me."

"You're a wizard. You could easily fix that."

"Yes, but it was the fact that you threw it at me in the first place that made me mad."

"You still said you hated me."

"Words spoken in anger are rarely truthful."

"So you don't hate me?"

"Of course not."

Ginny shuffled at bit in her jackets. "Is it true you went to Hannah Abbot's after our fight for comfort?"

Harry was shocked. "No! Why the hell would I do that? I barely know the girl."

Ginny shrugged. "Blaise told me he heard it from Pansy."

"You've been talking to Blaise?"

"We were paired up!"

"Oh… so is there anything going on between you and Blaise?"

"Harry!"

"Sorry, sorry."

"This is getting awkward, so I'm going to sleep. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Good morning contestants!" A loud bugle woke up the eight from their less than peaceful slumber.

Draco groggily got up. "Who is making that bloody noise?"

"IN FIVE MINUTES I EXPECT ALL OF YOU IN THE CLEARING!" Jeff shouted into his microphone. He had carefully inserted four small, but very loud, speakers in each shelter.

"Five minutes?" Pansy shrieked. "What about my hair!"

"Just tangle it in one of those rubber bands or whatever and let's go." Draco answered, throwing on a clean shirt.

Five minutes later, they were all successfully in the Clearing, Pansy looking pissed. It looked as if Draco had talked her into wearing something more sensible this time- a shirt that wasn't cut quite so low, and capris. She still stuck with her sandals, however.

"So, how did you sleep last night?" Jeff asked. All it took was eight furious glares to tell him not to press the question. "Er… great, then! This morning we are going to take time to explain to all of you the island, the challenges, the filming process, and such things. Nat and Carl are taking a break today. That is- until tonight…"

"I don't like the look on your face, Jim." Draco said.

Jeff forced a smile. "It's Jeff."

"Sure it is, Jack." Blaise had to snigger slightly at this. Jeff was going to wish he hadn't taken a second glance at Draco's application by the time this show was over.

Jeff blinked. "Okay then, anyway, we are going to start with a basic tour of the island. If you all will follow me-" He got up and brushed himself off. "-let's go!"

"Hey, Harry?" Ron tugged on his best friend's arm and pulled him to the back of the group. "Nothing… _happened_ between you and my sister last night, right?"

Harry went bright red. "No!"

"Sorry, mate, just making sure."

"Yeah, well, what about you and Hermione?"

"Of course not! She hates me anyway."

"C'mon, Ron. She does not."

"Right…"

Near the top of the group, Hermione and Draco were fighting (again) over who got to walk in front.

"Move, Mudblood, I was here first."

She pushed him slightly. "A proper pureblood like you should know that it's ladies first."

"Then why are _you_ trying to get in front?"

She glared. "I could say the same thing."

"Shove it."

"Gladly." She shoved her shoulder into his, causing him to stumble slightly to the left. His leg caught on a log and he fell, facedown, into a pile of mud. The group stopped immediately, and Hermione's jaw dropped in shock.

"Did I just…"

"Ooo, Hermione, you are in for it." Ginny whispered.

Slowly, Draco stood. His face was covered in brown mud, his clothes splattered in dirt, and his hair thrown in disarray. But no amount of mud in the world could hide the furious expression on his face. "Granger." He hissed.

Pansy threw Hermione a nasty glare and rushed to Draco's side. "Are you okay, Drakie?" She clutched his arm and gave him worried eyes. He scowled and shook her off.

"Bugger off, Pansy!" He turned to Hermione, who was watching the scene unfold in silence, and withdrew his wand from his back pocket without thinking. "You're going to pay for that Mud-"

"Hey!" Jeff said nervously. "Let's not go pointing sticks, now. What is that, anyway?"

Draco forgot his anger for a moment, and looked like he wanted to slap himself for his stupidity. "It's… a… stick."

Blaise cut in. "A school stick. It showed…"

"… spirit. School spirit." Ginny finished.

Jeff nodded slowly. "A school spirit stick. And you keep it with you?"

"Yeah. It's really… special to us." Draco said. He stuffed his wand back into his pocket.

"Do you all have one?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah." The chorused.

"Oookay then. Good to know. Let's just keep walking."

Draco sent Hermione one more nasty look before wiping his face clean with his shirt and pushing his way past her, to the front.

"Wow Hermione!" Ron and Harry appeared by her side. "That was even better than the time you socked him in third year."

"Yeah! Did you see his face?" Harry laughed. "Hilarious."

"Uh-huh." Hermione said. Truth be told, she was awfully nervous about what Draco was going to do in retaliation.

A moment later, the group reached the beach. "This is the beach area of the island. This is where we will do some of our water challenges as well as bonfires and such. If you wanted to cook something, this would be the place." Jeff narrated.

"Hey- what's that?" Pansy asked, pointing to a half- hidden hut on the other end of the beach. It had lighting and solid walls and looked as if it might actually have a toilet.

"Oh. That's… er… me and Cindy's cabin." Jeff admitted.

Pansy's eyes fixated on the suite. "I. Want. That." It took Blaise, Draco, and a reluctant Ron to keep her from running to the cabin.

"Let's go now!" Jeff was beginning to regret accepting Tom's phone call. Five minutes later they got to the deeper part of the forest. "This is the 'jungle' as Cindy dubbed it. It's basically a lot of shrubbery. You'll find most of the edible stuff here." They walked farther, reaching a tall mountain. "This is the mountain. It is where most of your challenges will take place, because the jungle leads straight to the mountain. The only other thing you should know is that there are three hot springs in here." Jeff winked. "But I'll leave those up for you to find."

The others nodded. "Are we done yet? I'm hungry." Ron said. His stomach grumbled in response. The others rolled their eyes.

"A couple last things. I want you guys to know that there are other cameras hidden in certain places on the island. We're not going to tell you where those are either. Nat and Carl will be filming most of the things that go on, however, so don't worry that much. As far as challenges, there will be various ones at random times. For food, you will be finding your own food and cooking it yourself. Same with clothing, bathroom breaks, and any minor injuries. It's all you guys. There is also something we call the 'Confession Session". It's when we separate you one by one, or in pairs, and you talk to the camera. Sometimes we'll be there to ask questions for you to answer from viewers. And we'll also share with you where you stand as far as viewer points and competition points. Do you all understand?"

Blink. Blink. Blink.

"Well… okay then. I guess you'll just embrace things as they come." Jeff grinned. "Now I'm leaving!"

"Wait- leaving?" Ginny asked. "We don't know where we are."

"Oops! Guess you should've been paying more attention. Have fun!" Jeff laughed and promptly ran away.

The others stared at the spot where he just been.

"Well, that's great. What in Merlin's name do we do now?" Blaise asked.

"I don't like him." Draco said.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "No _really_?"

"Don't speak to me like that, Weasley!"

"Honestly? This is getting us no where." Hermione said.

"I'm hungry!" Ron moaned.

Harry nodded. "I second that."

Luna, on the other hand, had wandered father into the underbrush. She came back holding some berries. "I think these are edible."

"You think?" Pansy said.

Ron pulled out his wand. "Easy enough to-"

Hermione grabbed it and hissed. "Cameras!"

"Bloody Muggles." Ron muttered.

"So… what do we do know?" Blaise repeated.

"I think we should go this way." Hermione pointed left.

"_I _think we should go this way." Draco pointed right.

Ginny groaned. "Not this again."

"This is the way we came." Hermione insisted.

"That's the way to the beach."

"It is not! The beach is that way." Hermione pointed forwards.

"No it's not! It's this way."

"It is not! Either way, we don't want to got to the beach."

Draco took a step forward. "Yes we do! There were some coconut trees right next to it."

Hermione stepped forward as well. "I saw some fruit trees on the way here."

Draco leaned closer, they were inches apart. The others were watching in mixed humor and fear. "Well, the beach is warmer."

Hermione couldn't think quite straight, he was much too close. "The other way is… is… less wet!"

He smirked, then leaned away. "Pathetic, Granger. We're going to the beach." And with that, he began to walk.

"Did you see that? You could practically feel the tension." Blaise whispered to Ginny as he followed Draco out.

Ginny nodded. This competition was going to be so interesting.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Okay! That was fun. I'm putting this on all my fics:

I've been getting a couple requests to read and review fics. So if you have one that you want me to read and review, put it in a review! **Tell me the title and what kind of feedback you want.** :) I hope I can help you guys!

NOW REVIEW! PLEASE!

I promise there will be more action coming up later.

~Potato


	6. First Challenge

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N- Hi! Guess what? Potato discovered wizard rock and Potato is obsessed. (If you didn't know, wizard rock is songs about Harry Potter.) And now Potato is speaking like a house elf, so Potato will stop.

Credit to MikeyCutie for the challenge idea. I tweaked it a bit, though. :)

Enjoy!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter 6- First Challenge

Tom raised his eyebrow and dipped another carrot into his ranch dressing. "So you mean they haven't used any magic yet?"

"Nope. Almost- but they haven't." Jeff said, crossing his legs and leaning into the reclining chair in his and Cindy's cabin.

"Eh, they'll break soon enough. So… anything interesting?"

"Nah, just this fighting that's been going on. Draco and Hermione… wow."

"Told you."

"Well, you'll see when the first episode airs."

"You took my advice, right?" Tom asked silkily.

"Well…"

"Right?"

"I tweaked it a bit."

There was no answer.

"Tom, trust me, you'll like what I did."

"I better. Don't forget- I found you eight perfect contestants."

"Right, right." Jeff eyed the door of the cabin, it was shaking. Cindy was back. "Listen, Tom, I gotta go. Talk to you later."

"Goodbye."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Hannah Abbot was busy in the kitchen when her fiancée began laughing histerically from the other room. Wiping her hands on her apron, she walked over to where Neville Longbottom was on his wizarding computer.

"What're you watching?" she asked him. He pointed to the screen, which was black, with the words "Survive That" in large white block letters at the top. "Oh, that show that Hermione and Harry and them went on."

"Look at who else got on." Neville said, recovering from his laughter.

Hannah scrolled down the screen. Each contestant had their name in white letters, and two pictures of themselves: one was obviously sent from home, and the other was taken on the island. They had a little summary of each person, their personality, and their total points (which, at this point, was zero for everyone.) There was a place to vote on your favorite contestant and post comments and everything.

First was Ron, Harry, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, Dr-Draco!

"Draco Malfoy got on?" Hannah asked. "That Slytherin bully that Hermione works for?" Neville nodded.

"And Zabini and pug-faced Parkinson." He confirmed.

Hannah laughed. "That's hilarious. When does the first episode come out?"

"Tomorrow night."

"We better go buy a TV."

"Okay, let's go."

"I can't wait to see what they are going to do to each other."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It had been five hours since the group had reached the beach, and they were currently sipping sweet coconut juice out of the coconut shells. Both Ron and Harry were sporting colorful bruises.

"It hurts." Ron moaned as Hermione dabbed at his face with a wet washcloth. "Damn you Malfoy."

"Hey, it was not my decision for you to be the ones who would wait at the bottom and catch the coconuts." Draco said, taking another sip.

"Yeah, but you told us it would be an easy job." Harry said with a groan.

"Easy and painful."

Ron glared. "You left out the painful part."

The group had spent the first two hours thinking of (arguing over) a way to retrieve the coconuts in the first place. Every idea that Hermione came up with, Draco and Pansy would shoot down, and every idea Draco came up with, Harry and Ron would shoot down. No one noticed when Blaise and Luna left and came back sporting a large handmade slingshot, which proved to be effective in knocking down the coconuts.

A few hours, several large rocks, quite a few arguments, dozens of variously sized bruises, and eight very tired/angry people later, they had their coconuts and were sipping them on the beachside. Hermione and Ginny were tending to the boy's injuries.

Hermione checked her watch. "It's nearly six… I wonder if they're coming." And just about thirty seconds after saying this, Cindy appeared. "Hello contestants!" she greeted. "I haven't seen you all day!"

"I'm not complaining." Draco mumbled under his breath.

"Well, I have come here with news from Jeff. In just one short hour, you will be having your first competition!" She paused, smiling, as if waiting for them to cheer or something. Instead, they stared with bored expressions. Her smile faltered slightly. "So, we are asking you to pair up again and head to your respective shelters to prepare. Then meet us in the Clearing in exactly one hour. Go!"

They just stared, still sitting. She sighed. "Just go already! I know you're tired, but you have to." Grumbling slightly, the eight contestants reluctantly stood and began to leave.

Once gone, Cindy rolled her eyes. "They are so pathetic!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"I am tired of this already." Ron complained as he put a clean shirt on. "All I've had to eat is a coconut." Suddenly, a bar-like object rocketed across the room and hit him on the head. "Ow! What the hell Hermione?"

"Stop complaining." She said. "I'm busy moping."

"Hey- wait." Ron picked up the object she threw. "This is a granola bar! I am so hungry, I will even eat health food." He stuffed it into his mouth and had it done in three seconds.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Typical boy. Listen, I'm all ready for whatever the heck they have planned for us, so I'm going to go visit Harry and Ginny, okay?"

Ron was busy jerking on a pair of pants. "Sure- what-ever!" Hermione shook her head and left the cave. After arguing a bit with some tree branches, she arrived at their… shack.

"Hi guys!" she said brightly. "Nice place." Harry rolled his eyes and opened the door. "I honestly don't believe that two grown wizards made this thing."

"I can." Ginny said. "It _was_ Ron and Malfoy." Harry nodded. "True, true."

"So…" Ginny said. "What brings you here, Hermione?"

"Oh, just leaving Ron. I got bored with him." Hermione sat down in a dirty corner of the room. "Figured I'd come and talk to you."

"Ron's getting on your nerves that much?" Ginny asked knowingly.

"Well… no." Hermione said. "It's been kind of awkward since last night."

"What happened?" Harry asked. Hermione sighed. "I just kind of told him that we argue too much and we obviously weren't meant to be together."

Ginny sucked in sharply. "Ooo… bad idea." Harry nodded in agreement. "What- why?" Hermione asked. "Oh no, please don't tell me that-"

"-he's not over you." Ginny said. Hermione moaned. "Yeah, it's kind of obvious, Hermione. He talks about you a lot when you're not there. And he kind of told Harry he still had feelings for you, and Harry told me."

"What am I supposed to do? I don't like him anymore." Hermione said. "I told him it was over for good, and I just wanted for us to go back to being friends, like things used to be. At Hog- Pigwarts." She corrected. "I have to get used to saying that."

"Well, you're in a tough situation." Harry said, patting his friend on the back. "But I have no advice for you." Hermione smiled weakly. "That's okay."

_He might not have any advice for her… but I just might. _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"…and the little pain in the arse won't leave me alone." Draco finished. "I really have no idea what to do anymore."

"The Forgaments could help you," Luna said lightly. "if they were only native to this area."

Draco gave her a slightly annoyed and confused look before turning back to Blaise, who shrugged. "I'd listen to Luna. She sounds like she knows what she's talking about."

"Blaise!" Draco had barely escaped Pansy just a mere three minutes go, after she had desperately tried to flirt with him. "I'm serious mate, do you want me to commit suicide before this whole thing is over?"

"Draco, stop overreacting, you're-" But he was cut off by Draco lunging at him and grabbing at his shirt collar.

"I am not _overreacting_! She is going to be the end of me!" He hissed.

"Okay! Okay!" Blaise pried himself from his friend's death grip. He furiously racked his brain for a solution. "I'll think of something…"

"You better."

"Um, excuse me?" Luna flounced up and stood between them. "It's time to go. Jeff will be furious if we're late."

"Er- right." Blaise moved to leave when he noticed what Luna had changed into. She was wearing a bright turquoise top and a long, ankle- length, sunshine yellow skirt. "Are you sure you want to wear that, Luna?"

"Quite." And with that, Luna left.

"Eccentric, that one." Draco commented as they followed her out. "I might even take her above Pansy." Blaise pondered this. _That might work._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Okay, contestants!" Cindy smiled at the eight, who were seated in a row on the log. It was getting late, and the sky was darkening. They hadn't noticed, however, as the two cameras were practically shoved in their faces. "Welcome to your first challenge!" They weakly clapped.

Jeff cut in. "Your challenge tonight is going to be a scavenger hunt. In the dark. With only one flashlight. And you have to find the batteries." He gave a dramatic pause, but got no response.

Of course, only Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron understood what he meant, having past experience with Muggles. Draco, Blaise, Pansy, and Luna had no idea what flashlights or batteries were.

"So, here is your list of things to find." Cindy handed both Hermione and Luna a list that was taped shut. "Don't open it- you have a time limit! You will have one hour to find all the items and reach the final point. Every item on that list should be found in the order they are listed, and each is considered a checkpoint. When you reach the checkpoint, there will be a hint on where to go next. The team to reach the final checkpoint first wins. Don't worry about Nat and Carl, they will be waiting at the end for you. There will be various cameras set up on the trail you are supposed to take. Do you understand?" They all nodded. "Then let's break into teams!"

Jeff pulled out eight wristbands- four red, and four blue. "On the blue team, we have Harry, Luna, Ron, and Pansy." Pansy looked upset over being separated from her "Drakie" and being stuck with two-third of the "Golden Trio", but the rest looked fine with the arrangement.

Hermione was happy until she realized who was on her team. "And on the red team, we have Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and Blaise!" Hermione grimaced as she twisted her wristband on.

"Okay, so do we are we all ready?" Cindy asked. She handed Hermione and Luna both a battery-deprived flashlight.

"Yep!" they said.

Jeff smiled. "Then let's go! Blue goes that way-" he pointed to his left "-and red goes that way." He pointed to his right. "Go!"

And with that, they took off into the bushes. Hermione ran to the front of her group. "Okay, I have the list, so I think we should go-"

"-who made you the leader?" Draco asked. Hermione gave him a nasty look. "Cindy. When she gave me the list of items." Draco snatched the list from her. "Well, now I'm the leader. And I say we go that way." He pointed left.

"That's where I was going to say to go." Hermione exasperatedly said.

Draco flushed. "Then we're going that way." He pointed right.

"Okay, you know what?" Blaise stole the list. "I'm the leader! And we're going forwards, as the other group probably already has, and they're _beating us!"_

Ginny nodded. "I like his idea. What's first on the list?"

"The batteries, of course. It says to head north." Blaise read. "Which way is north?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You all better thank me. I have a compass." Within seconds, they were heading north, the sky gradually getting darker and darker.

"So… what's batteries?" Draco asked. He said it casually. Hermione laughed. "It's a type of Muggle contraption that fuels stuff. Like a mini gas tank."

"What's a gas tank?"

"Never mind."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"No."

Ginny and Blaise trailed behind the other two, talking. "So," Blaise said. "Draco's been complaining an awful lot about Pansy."

Ginny chuckled. "I would be too, if she was hanging onto me like a flies on a pile of crap."

"Interesting analogy. Anyway, I was wondering if I could apply for your services." Blaise asked.

"What kind of services are we talking about here?" Ginny asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Because I don't like the sound of where this is going."

"Yeah, you probably won't. But, before I tell you the idea, I want to mention that this will be in your benefit, Draco's benefit, Hermione's benefit, Harry's benefit, and possibly Pansy's benefit." Blaise ticked off the names on his fingers. "And it will certainly make me happy, because Draco will stop bothering me. And Jeff and Cindy will be happy about the ratings."

"Okay… but what is it?" Ginny asked. She was perplexed.

Blaise breathed in. "I think you and Draco should fake a relationship." He rushed.

"WHAT?" Ginny shrieked. Hermione and Draco stopped their petty bickering and turned around. "What happened, Ginny?" Hermione asked.

Ginny turned red. "Nothing! It's just that… um… er… we haven't found the item yet and it's been six minutes?"

Hermione nodded slowly. "Right." After casting her a confused glance, she turned back around and kept walking.

Immediately, Ginny rounded on Blaise. "What! Why? How is this in my benefit? How is this in Draco's benefit? How am I going to-"

"Shut up for a second, please." Blaise interrupted. Ginny stopped and glared. "Listen, just listen. How is this in your benefit? It'll make Harry jealous, which is what you want, right? I know you still like him, and he still like you, but you're both too scared and shy to try again." Ginny pursed her lips. He was right. "Draco will benefit because Pansy will back off. Let's face it- you're a tough chick. Pansy's not going to fight for too long if you're in a relationship with Draco. She'll move on." Ginny nodded.

"Right, right."

"As for Hermione, it'll make her jealous. It might be subconscious, or she might realize it, but it'll make her jealous. Maybe they'll finally get together." Ginny liked this one. She wanted to see Hermione's reaction. "Harry will be happy because you two might get back together in the end. Pansy will be happy because she will have finally been able to move on. Cindy and Jeff will have ratings shoot up if you hook up, due to the fact watchers love relationships. It's a win/win situation."

"Besides the fact _I_ have to date _Malfoy_."

"But you're in, right?"

"I suppose. As long as-"

"There it is!" Hermione yelled, cutting off Ginny. She was pointing to a bright red sack tied up in a tree. "Those must be the batteries."

Draco groaned. "Another tree? Really?"

"Can you make another slingshot?" Hermione asked Blaise. He shook his head. "That was all Luna. I just helped a little."

Hermione frowned. "Then what else could we…" she trailed off, then sent an evil glance at Draco.

"Oh no." He said, realized what she was suggesting. "There is no way that I'm…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"So, how're things with you and Ginny?" Ron asked as he and Harry trekked through the forest.

"Eh, nothing much. I don't think she knows."

"Mate, you've got to do something soon before she finds someone new."

"Who's she going to hook up with? We're on a deserted island. You're her brother, Malfoy's completely out of question, and Blaise…" Harry faltered.

Ron wiggled his eyebrows. "Point proven."

"I don't know, mate, he's still a Slytherin."

A shrill voice from in front of them interrupted their conversation. "Are you two bozos going to help us, or what?" Pansy shrieked.

Ron grumbled. "Coming."

"Oh, it's no problem." Luna said, coming up from behind Pansy. "I found the batteries." She held up a blue sack with some lumps in it.

"How did you-" Ron began, but Harry cut him off.

"Don't bother. She found them, right?" Ron shrugged, and watched as Luna tried to shove the batteries into the flashlight.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"I am going to kill you, Granger!" Draco called from halfway up the tree. "You have no idea what this is doing to my-"

"Too much information!" Hermione screamed. Draco was currently in a rather uncomfortable position, as he was shinnying up a tree. Both his arms and legs were wrapped around the trunk, causing him pain in… certain areas.

Ginny, Hermione, and Blaise had all voted that Draco climb the tree to get the batteries, much to his anger. "I- almost- have it!" Draco yelled as he grabbed the sack. "Now how do I get down?"

Hermione bit back a laugh. She hadn't thought of that. "Um…"

"Granger!" he yelled.

"Just jump!" Ginny suggested. Draco bit his lip, closed his eyes, and jumped down. _Oomph!_

"That looked like it hurt." Blaise whispered.

Hermione grabbed the bag of batteries from next to where Draco was laying on the ground and held them up triumphantly. "Great! We have the batteries. What next?"

"Um, it says to look for a pool and there's an article of clothing from one of us." Blaise read.

Ginny blushed. "It better not be something of mine."

"Well, let's get going then." Hermione said. "We have time we're wasting." They were about to leave when Draco called out from the ground.

"Uh, hello, injured person here?" He groaned.

"Draco, stop being melodramatic and get up." Blaise said. Draco mumbled a bit and slowly lifted himself from the ground. He hissed to Blaise. "If there weren't cameras watching this, I'd hex the lot of you into the next century."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"You know, Pansy's not that bad." Ron said to Harry, watching the Slytherin stumble over a tangle of weeds on the ground.

"What is that supposed to mean? She's a brat." Harry said.

Ron shrugged. "Yeah, but she's hot."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't you still have feelings for Hermione?"

"I do, but every guy needs a backup plan, right?"

"Really Ron? Pansy?"

"I'm trying to not be picky here. That whole inter-house unity thing, right? Plus, it'll piss off Malfoy."

"Whatever, mate."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Are we there yet?" Draco asked for the millionth time. He was practically dragging himself through the forest, beads of sweat decorating his forehead. Hermione snapped.

"We are _trying_! Now shut up before I personally unman you!"

"Ooo… naughty, Granger, naughty." He teased.

Hermione opened her mouth to retaliate when Blaise pulled back a palm frond, revealing quite a scene. "But not as naughty as that!"

There was a large body of water, with a pole sitting in the center. On the top of the pole was a pair of very lacy underwear.

Hermione's jaw dropped to the ground. Her cheeks burned bright red. "Oh, they didn't…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Poor Hermione! The drama is building… :) Anyway, I have a lot of stuff to tell you guys.

First, thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming! To answer some questions:

What about the prophesy, that said "one cannot live while the other survives"? Wow, I was embarrassed about this. Um, let's just say there was no time limit on this, so one of them will die eventually? If I come up with something better, I'll tell you, but I'm rushing big time right now.

The second and third part of the "I Have No Idea" series is up. Part two is on potatocrazywriter3's profile, and part three is on mine.

I have some other stuff, but I have no time right now. If I forgot your question, I'll tell you next time.

Keep the suggestions coming! I take them seriously, and into consideration. Thanks! REVIEW!

~Potato


	7. Fake Dating

A/N- Okay, I'm sorry I haven't updating in awhile, but I've been uber- busy. (That is the first time I've used the word uber.) And I've also had writer's block.

Long chapter coming up! And it's NOT VERY GOOD because I rushed so I could get a chapter out already. Sorry! :)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Wow." Draco said, squinting at the panties, trying to see them in the moonlight. "Nice underwear, Weasley."

Ginny blushed. "It's not mine!"

Blaise's face broke into a wide grin. "If it's not yours, then it must be…" he looked at Hermione, who wailed.

"I can't believe they did that! That is so embarrassing!" she nearly screamed.

"Who knew the bushy-haired know-it-all had sexy underwear?" Draco said, laughing heartily.

"This is going to be on NATIONAL TELEVISION!" she yelled at Draco. "Shut up!"

Draco just laughed harder. "Hey- don't get your knickers in a twist." This even got Ginny giggling.

Hermione flushed brighter red than Ron's hair, then sank to the ground. "What do I do?"

Blaise looked at the underwear. It wasn't a thong, but it was certainly not… Hermione-like. "Come on, Hermione, just swim out there and get them."

"No! I've been through enough!" she said. "Make Malfoy get them."

Draco's ears perked at this. "No way I am doing that. One- I've been through enough with the tree. Two- That is water. Which makes my clothes dirty. Three- There is no way in hell I am touching your knickers."

Ginny sighed. "I'll do it." And with that, she promptly stripped herself of her shirt, and, because it was dark enough, her pants, and jumped in the water.

Blaise whistled. "She is unpredictable." A moment later, Ginny was sitting on the small island in the center of the lake, untying the underwear from the pole. She held up the note triumphantly and swam back.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The moment the group reached the small body of water, they had a reaction similar to the red team's. Attached to a pole in the center was a pair of boxers with little pink house elves on it.

Luna's musical laugh tinkled in the night air. "Are those yours, Ron?"

Ron's face matched his hair. He nodded slowly.

"Oh, this is too good." Pansy said. "Is this being filmed?"

Harry was caught between feeling bad for his embarrassed friend and laughing hysterically. "Go on, Ron, just get them."

"Did you choose those? Where do you shop?" asked Pansy.

"It was a Christmas present, okay?" Ron said as he prepared to dive into the water. "I was going to throw them out!"

But they weren't listening. They were too busy laughing.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"So… what's next?" Ginny asked after she had redressed.

Blaise squinted at the list. "It says…"

"…a symbol that you'll recognize." Harry read off the paper. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Perhaps it means the stars," Luna said as she swept a hand over her head, gesturing at the twinkling night sky. "Perhaps a certain recognizable noise. Or an ancient carving in a cave."

"Maybe…" said Ron. "Why don't we just walk?"

"Where are we supposed to go?" asked Hermione. "We've been walking for ten minutes now." They were traveling up a cliff that ended

"I don't see why we're trying, we all know that the others are going to beat us." Ginny said, trudging along through the brambles.

Draco scowled. "Listen, let's just find this thing and then we'll-" Suddenly, he stopped walking as he reached the tip of the cliff that led to a drop-off. His eyes were focused on whatever was below the cliff. His face turned deadly pale and her eyes narrowed.

"Draco?" Blaise asked, inching nearer to him. Draco was shaking slightly, fists clenched. Hermione and Ginny both shared an apprehensive look before approaching the two boys.

"Malf…" Hermione started, but faltered when she saw what was below. There, carved into the sand, was a skull with a snake slithering its way out of the mouth- the Dark Mark.

"Cool," said Harry, looking at the vast plain of sand in front of his group. Engraved in the sand was a giant lightning scar. "That's what they meant by a symbol."

"Why from you? Why from Harry Potter again?" Ron asked.

Pansy smirked. "Maybe because you don't have any interesting bodily blemishes."

"I do so! I have… an odd looking birthmark on my shoulder blade!" he leaned over, trying to find it.

Luna spoke up. "I found the message."

"What- where?" Harry asked. "We haven't moved yet."

"It's in the engraving," she said simply. "Look closely." Sure enough, there in the sand, were the words instructing them to the next checkpoint.

Hermione was freaking out. "I told you! I told you it was a trap and the Death Eate-" Ginny covered her mouth. "Cameras!" she hissed. Draco still hadn't moved, and Blaise was in deep thought.

"Hermione," he said. "It's no trap. They got it from Draco's Dark Ma- tattoo." He corrected.

Hermione frowned for a moment, then understood. "Oooh… that's what they meant by a symbol we would recognize."

"Yeah…" Blaise said. "Listen, Hermione, me and Ginny will go down there and see if we can find anything. You just… stay here and… watch Draco." He cast a glance at Draco, who still hadn't inched a bit.

"Wait- what- no!" Hermione said. But it was too late- Blaise and Ginny had already escaped in the bushes. She cast a wary glance at Draco. He had stuffed his hands into his pockets and sat down on a rock. Hesitantly, she approached him. "M…Malfoy?"

He didn't look at her at first, just stared at the rock. "Don't give me some speech."

"A speech?" she said, confused.

"You know- 'they didn't mean to make me mad, they only thought it was a tattoo' thing."

"I don't think you're wrong to be angry. It's… a difficult topic."

"God, Granger, you make me sound like an emotionally unstable child."

"I'm just trying to say that you have a right to be mad, but they didn't know."

He didn't say anything- just nodded.

Hermione grinned slightly. "Is that your way to say thank you?"

He looked at her, the slightest bit of humor flitting across his face. "What did you do that I need to thank you for?"

"Draco Malfoy, I just helped you through an emotional moment."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to them."

"Admit it- the Slytherin King has a soft side."

"I have nothing of the sort. I-"

"We found it!" Ginny sang as she burst out of the bushes. "We head to the Clearing, where they're going to be waiting."

"Wait, wait, wait." Draco said. "You mean to tell me that we went on this whole stupid, not to mention painful, adventure, just to go back to where we started?"

Blaise nodded.

"And for the fiftieth time, I hate you for getting me to go on this game show." With that, Draco turned around, and began to walk the way they had come.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Yup, trust me, you will be amazed at what happened." Jeff said into his cell phone. "I went with the teams you gave me, and there is drama central with the red team. All this scheming and trickery and awkwardness…"

"And they have no clue that you can hear everything they're saying?" Tom asked.

"Nope. Not a single one of them even considered it."

"Well, they can't be expected to know that you're a wizard. The majority of them are dunces anyway."

"Yes, well, just wait until you see the episodes out tonight."

"Plural?"

"Cindy thought that there was too much footage, and for the opening episodes, we should have two. She just made a deal with the yoga program that airs after us."

"Okay then. Well, tell me how they progress."

"Sure will. Bye." Jeff snapped his cell phone shut, just in time for the first group to come back- the blue team. Nat and Carl, who were playing cards in the corner of the Clearing, wandered over.

Ron threw up his hands triumphantly. "Wooooo!"

"You know, that was really easy," Luna said. "Only three checkpoints."

"Don't say that!" Pansy hissed. "They'll only make the next one harder!"

"What do I win?" Harry asked.

Jeff decided to ignore them. "Congratulations! You have won the first challenge!" The team did a half-hearted cheer. "You have each gained as followed: Luna, for your battery retrieving and your lightning bolt- decoding… two points."

"Ronald, for your acceptance in letting your underwear be displayed on national TV, and for retrieving it… one point."

"Pansy, for doing nothing… zero points." Pansy just rolled her eyes, then eyed her un-manicured fingernails in disgust.

"Harry, for also doing nothing… zero points." Harry threw his hands in the air.

"Really?"

"Sorry, that's the way it works. But you all get an extra point for winning!" Jeff said brightly.

Harry was about to complain again when the bushes began to rustle and the red team popped in. Ginny looked triumphant, then put down when she saw they had lost. Blaise shrugged, Draco looked indifferent, and Hermione was just glad to be done.

"Sorry, red team, but you have lost the first challenge," Jeff said, putting on a fake disappointed face. "But you still get your chance at points!" They didn't really seem to care much.

"Hermione… for putting up with her underwear on TV and for discovering a way to get the batteries… one point."

"Draco… for getting the batteries… one point."

"Ginny… for getting the underwear… one point."

"Blaise… for doing nothing… zero points." Everyone clapped politely.

"Alright then! If everyone will sit down, Cindy is going to-"

"-tell you all about your sleeping arrangements!" Cindy popped through the bushes and put her hands on her hip, beaming in the moonlight. "They are going to be switched up!"

Hermione pursed her lips. She knew it was just going to be her luck that she was paired up with Malfoy. Or Pansy.

"You're going to be sleeping with your teams!" she announced. Hermione nodded. Predictable enough. "The red team will be in the cave, and the blue team will be in the forest clearing."

"Tomorrow, you will be shown your viewer popularity for the first time, and have your first Confession Session." Jeff said. "Be prepared! And with that, you are released."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Er… Hermione?" Ginny asked, after their team had gotten settled in their cave. "Could you go get my jacket? I dropped it on our way here, and I'm in the middle of trying to dry my underwear."

"Yeah, sure." Hermione grabbed the flashlight. "Be right back." Once she stepped out of the shelter, Ginny dropped her underwear and walked over to Blaise.

Draco looked suspiciously at the two of them. "Let me guess- you dropped the jacket on purpose." Ginny nodded. "What're you planning?"

"Well…" said Blaise. "We have a plan to get Pansy off your back." Draco visibly brightened.

"Yes?"

Ginny looked at him hurriedly. "Hermione will be back soon, so we're just going to tell you and you… just agree, okay?"

"What is it?"

Blaise took a deep breath. "We want you to fake date Ginny."

Draco's eyebrows shot straight up. "_Wealsey_? You want me to fake date _Weasley_?"

Ginny pursed her lips. "Listen, I'm not too pysyched about it either, but it's going to solve your problems-"

"Uh- how?" Draco asked.

"Pansy will back off if you date Ginny," Blaise explained. "And it'll make Harry jealous. And it'll be good for the show ratings."

Draco pondered this. "So… I fake date you," Ginny nodded, "for only a couple of days," she nodded again, "and no PDA?"

Blaise answered that one. "Minimal. But we have to make this believable."

Ginny scrunched up her nose. "Ew."

Draco looked indignant. "I'll have you know that many girls would throw themselves off a cliff for a snog from me-" he was cut off by some shuffling outside the cave. A moment later, Hermione hopped in.

"I found it!" she held up the jacket. "You're welcome."

"Thanks." Ginny said. "I suppose it's late now- we should go to sleep."

"Yup." Blaise nodded. "Goodnight."

"'Night."

"'Night."

"'Night."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The next morning, Draco draped his arm over Ginny's shoulders, an action to which she flinched terribly. "Really?" she hissed. "Already?"

"Listen... _sweetie_," he said. "I'm going to make this believable. For the cameras." He waved his arm to the space where Blaise and Hermione were still sleeping.

"Malfoy- there aren't any cameras."

"That's Draco to you."

"Only in front of the cameras." she said dramatically, waving her hand in an imitation of Draco. As she did it, Hermione began to stir.

"Ginny?" she mumbled sleepily. "Why's Malfoy hugging you?" Draco gave her a haughty smirk.

"We're dating."

-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.

"No friggin' way." Ron said. He dropped his swimshirt. "You're lying. Hermione Jean Granger- drop the act!"

Hermione raised her hands, feigning innocence. "I'm not the one dating the albino freak. You're little... I mean, twin sister is."

"No she's not! She is not. I'm going to go and stop this nonsense right now." Ron made his way to leave the changing area, but Hermione grabbed him from behind. "No, Ron, you can't. We have a challenge coming up!"

"I don't care! That's Draco Malfoy alone somewhere with my sister!" Ron jerked himself out of her grasp, but Cindy appeared.

"Are we done changing?" she asked.

Ron gave her a glare. "Yes. We are. Can I go now?"

Cindy gave him an apprehensive smile. "Er... sure..."

"Excuse us." Hermione said, tugging at her swimsuit and following Ron out of the forest. "Ron, do you even know where you're going?" When he just kept walking, she grabbed his arm. "The beach is the other way."

Ron looked indifferent, he just turned around and kept walking. When they reached the beach, they were greeted by a series of surprising things:

A whole slew of cameras set up at different angles, all focusing on the water.

Two long platforms that were placed on either side of the beach, a couple yards into the water.

A long rope that was placed in between the two platforms.

Jeff and Cindy talking animatedly with Harry, Luna, Blaise, and Pansy.

Ginny (wearing a very skimpy bikini) giggling at the side of Draco, who was laying down in the beach sand.

Ron looked ready to kill. "I am going to stab that bastard and rip his limbs off, piece by piece, until he is a mere pile of scraps that was once the pathetic Draco Malfoy."

"Well, that's quite a speech, but I doubt you can do that on camera." Hermione said. "Now go grab me a peach or something. I didn't have breakfast."

"No! I have a murder just begging to be accomplished." Ron took off, and Hermione gave up. Instead, she walked up to Harry, Luna, Pansy, Blaise, Jeff, and Cindy.

"Hey guys."

Jeff gave her an enthusiastic grin. "Isn't it the best?" he asked.

"What?"

"That!" he waved at Ginny and Draco. "I thought we'd have to push you guys, but you seem to be leaping for romance!" Hermione checked out the other's responses to the unlikely couple. Luna looked spaced out, Pansy looked disgusted and jealous, Blaise didn't seem to care, and Harry... Harry didn't have much of an emotion. More of a mask. Hermione herself didn't honestly think that Ginny was really dating Malfoy- it wasn't realistic. There was nothing leading up to it, no reason for them to start a relationship in the first place... but why would they fake it?

"Er… sure… great." Hermione said. "But why are we here?"

"Oh, yes, your challenge!" Jeff said. "That will start in a moment. For the time being, why don't you just… mingle."

The others shrugged and began to walk away. Hermione wasn't sure how they were supposed to 'mingle' but she was positive that it wasn't what Ron was doing- having a row with Malfoy.

"You can't date her! You're a Slyther- Snake!" Ron shouted. "You hate her!"

"Oh, and if I hated her, I'd be dating her?" Draco said in an equally loud tone. "You're just upset because I can actually treat her right. Unlike other men she's been with." He casted a glance at Harry, who decided that it was time to step in.

"You idiot, shut up," he said. "I'd say- not to mention _do_- much worse. But we're being filmed."

"Why don't you two stop using that excuse as a cover-up for how much of a coward you are?" Draco said. This is when Ginny stood up.

"They're not cowards, Draco," she turned to her brother and ex. "Guys, I like Draco. And I want you to accept that. At least respect it."

"How the hell do I respect that, Ginny? How?" Ron asked. "He's Draco Malfoy!"

"I'm well aware of that, but-"

"Time to start our next challenge!" Jeff shouted into a bullhorn. "Cut the arguing, we have a show to do!" Casting one last glare at each other, Ron and Draco followed the others, sitting down on the beach sand.

They had been instructed in the early morning to don a bathing suit, which was part of the packing list. The boys all had swimshirts, and the girls were in bikinis (and rather cold).

"Okay! As you can see, our next challenge is over the water." Cindy said, gesturing at the platforms in the sea. "We are going to stick with the teams we have already."

Jeff cut in. "What we are going to do is have one female from one team against another female from another team. They are going to play a little game of tug-of-war on the platforms. Whoever manages to tug the other into the water first gets the points."

Then Hermione understood why there were two. One of them would be on one side, the other on the other, and they would have to drag each other into the water. _This is going to be painful…_

"Now, we will also have a male from either team, standing behind the competing female. Should the female fall into the water, both males will compete to 'save' her. Whoever saves her gets the points. Do you all understand?" Jeff asked. They nodded. "Great!"

Cindy took out a slip of paper. "The first competing females will be Hermione and Pansy, with Draco and Ron as their 'savers'."

Hermione gulped. _Why me? _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Yeah, the ending of this chapter sucked, deal with it. :D

Okay, so I just wanted to thank xxxreallyNOTokxxx for making me an avatar! Go check it out… scroll up there… I have the description of it on my profile if you can't see it. I was so excited to see it, and honored, because I never expected to get fanart… I only thought that was for really good authors… and I don't consider myself one, although you people keep insisted that I am in reviews. (Flattered and embarrassed look here.) Go check out xxxreallyNOTokxxx's new Dramione fic. (I'm not sure if she's posted it yet.) She actually asked me for help on it… which is so cool!

Um… why is it that I can't remember what I was going to tell you until after I've written my AN's? So, do any of you have ideas for plot or anything? I'm totally open, I've been stressed lately, and even though I have ideas, I love when I can include other's ideas in my fics. :)

I want to say thanks for all the reviews in this story! Wow… all of those and we're only on chapter seven… it amazes me. O.O And thanks for your support on DHRFF. As you would know if you've read it recently, I'm going through and editing it (which is one reason for my slower updates) because I've gotten one person (xxxreallyNOTokxxx) who said she might enter it in the Dramione awards (awed look here) and one other person (name forgotten) who offered to translate it into French (amazed look here). Wow.

Well, thanks for reading that incredibly long (again) AN. REVIEW! Please. Thanks.

~Potato


	8. Tug Of War

Disclaimer- Me no own.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter Eight- Tug Of War

Two minutes later, Hermione was on a platform over the ocean, holding one end of a very thick rope. Pansy was on the other side, looking disgusted at the water below her. Ron was behind her, casting glances at her barely-clad butt every once and awhile.

"Are you ready Granger?" Draco's voice came from behind her, and she just knew that he was smirking.

She turned around. "Yeah- why?"

He gave a little smile. "Just don't underestimate Pansy. Especially when she doesn't want to end up in that." He pointed to the water.

"Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem." Hermione said.

"Why's that?"

"We all know that Pansy's going to want to end up in your arms. Even if it means she'll get wet."

Draco's face fell slightly. "Damn. Whatever, I'll just leave that up to Weasley. Look at him, he'd be more than happy to rescue her- he's busy checking out her arse over there."

"OKAY!" Jeff shouted from a megaphone on the beach sand. "ARE YOU READY?"

Hermione took a deep breath, grabbed her rope, and nodded.

"ALRIGHT THEN- GO!"

Hermione lurched forward as Pansy gave a sharp tug from her side. Surprised at the petite girl's strength, Hermione barely had time to react. She grasped her end of the rope tighter and worked on dragging herself away from the edge of the platform.

Draco now understood Ron's predicament. Hermione's butt was sticking way out as she tried to walk backwards, and Draco couldn't help but cast a glance every once and a while. She didn't have that bad of a figure, for the know-it-all Mudblood she was.

Then he snapped back into reality as Hermione tugged harder, causing Pansy to nearly trip. Pansy tried to get the foot grip back, but Hermione jerked again. With one last heave, she had Pansy in the water.

"AAAAAIII- spprgg…" Hermione couldn't help but laugh through her gasps of breath at the noise Pansy made when she hit the water. And then she laughed harder when Ron jumped in after her while Draco watched them, not even caring.

On the beach, Ginny gave Luna a confused look. "Does Ron-"

"-like Pansy?" she finished. "Yeah."

Ginny shrugged. "Makes sense." She watched as Pansy flailed wildly in Ron's arms, expressing that she would rather be in the water than being rescued by him.

"So how's Draco?" Luna asked.

Ginny put on a fake smile. "Oh, just great!"

Luna looked surprised. "Wow- you're wonderful at faking."

Ginny's smile faltered for a moment before she recollected herself. "Faking? Who said anything about faking?"

"Why do you all think you can hide things from me?"

Ginny looked like she was about to object, but she decided against it. "Okay, fine. We're faking it."

"Well, it's killing Blaise."

"What?" Ginny gave a little laugh. "It was his idea."

"That may be… but he likes you."

Ginny looked over at Harry and Blaise, who were watching the challenge a couple feet away. "I… I didn't know that."

Luna shrugged and gave a little smile. "It seems I tell people here a lot of things they don't know."

"OKAY!" Jeff yelled into his megaphone as Ron and Pansy landed on the beach sand. "THAT'S A POINT FOR HERMIONE AND RON!" The others politely clapped.

"WE ARE GOING TO KEEP HERMIONE AND DRACO UP THERE, AND BRING UP-"

Jeff stopped in mid-sentence when someone screamed from the platform. He turned in time to see Hermione falling off of the platform, landing with an enormous splash into the ocean. Nat and Carl swiveled their cameras, watching her tumble down. And it was good that they did, because if they had happened to turn the other way, they would have seen a suspicious-looking Blaise slip a stick of wood back into his swimsuit pocket with a smile.

Draco gaped as Hermione fell, not even knowing what caused her to slip. There was not breeze, no water, no one to trip her. It was almost like… magic.

It wasn't until she screamed that he realized that he should probably dive in after her- and before he could second-guess his decision, he was splashing into the ice-cold water just a few feet away from her.

Popping his head over the waves, he searched for her, and spotted her bushy hair covering her whole face as she gasped for air. Going against his better judgement, he swam up to her and tried to help support her.

Once she had successfully caught her breath back, Hermione gave Draco a confused look. "Malfoy- what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to keep you from drowning, Granger, now shut up."

She laughed. "You do realize we're only about two feet from being able to stand up in the water and despite that, I know how to swim."

Draco's pale face flushed deep red. "I-er-um…" He looked around. They had indeed landed in a shallow part of the water.

She giggled. "But I… appreciate the thought." Then she dived under the water and swam to shore, leaving Draco left to be filmed alone.

When he had gotten to the sand, Cindy was there to offer him a towel and a good laugh. "That was great Draco. Brilliant." He just shook his head.

Next up to compete was Ginny and Luna, with Blaise and Harry behind them. Hermione had a strong feeling that Ginny would win, being a Quidditch player, but Luna never failed to surprise her. It was a fair match.

"ALRIGHT!" Jeff yelled. "ARE WE READY? NO ONE'S GOING TO FALL DUE TO UNKNOWN PURPOSES?" He sent Hermione a grin.

Ginny and Luna nodded, signaling they were ready. "OKAY THEN- GO!"

It happened in about a second and a half. One moment, both girls were tugging at the rope, the next, one of them was in the water. And upon closer inspection, it was to nearly everyone's surprise that it was Ginny who had made the splash. Both men on the platform were also taken aback from this, and hadn't moved. Luna, on the other hand, had calmly put down the rope, and was staring at Blaise (who was behind her) as if waiting for him to do something.

It wasn't until Jeff cleared his throat into the megaphone that Harry got over the shock that Luna had won, and jumped into the water. Blaise followed close behind him.

After a moment, Harry emerged victorious, carrying Ginny out of the water and to the shore with a victorious air to him, giving Draco a triumphant looked. Ginny grinned- Harry was really jealous.

"OKAY- THAT'S ONE POINT FOR HARRY AND LUNA!" Jeff yelled. "CUT!" He gestured at Nat and Carl, who turned off their cameras.

"That was wonderful," Cindy said, once everyone was settled in a group. "For the rest of the day, do what you want, and we will be calling each of you to have your Confession Session." She looked down at her list. "First up- Harry Potter. You can come to the Clearing when you're done changing. Jeff will be interviewing Blaise Zabini as well."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"I simply refuse to believe it." Harry said. "It's just not… not… right."

"And you and Ginny were right?" Ron asked. "Because you two broke up more times than I can count."

Harry sighed. "We were more right than her and… _him._ Do you want your little sister to be the next Mrs Malfoy?"

Ron blanched at the thought. "We have to do something."

"Agreed."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Cindy crossed her legs and smiled. "Hello Mr Potter. Today I will be your Confession Session Questioner."

"That's a mouthful." Harry commented.

"Sure is. But seriously- let's get to the questions."

"Okay." Harry glanced at the camera out of the corner of his eye- Nat seemed to like close-ups.

"First- we all know that you had dated Ginny, and now she and Draco are an item. What was your first reaction to this?"

Harry put on a thoughtful face. "Well, frankly, at first it pissed me off. But Ginny's a great girl- and I want her to be happy."

"And do you think she's truly happy with Draco?"

"Well… I can't say I want her to be. Because I honestly can't see them together as a serious couple, but who knows? On an island, anything's possible."

"So you say you can't see them together. Who can you see together?"

"Out of all of us?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

"Well, I have to say that I can still see Ginny and I together. We were dating for so long, you know. As for Draco… Pansy wants him, but I really don't think Draco deserves anyone. Not even Pansy."

Cindy looked slightly taken aback by this. "Go on."

"I think that… Blaise and Luna could make a nice couple. I don't know, I don't usually pay attention to such things."

She nodded. "Uh-huh… so what do you think about Blaise Zabini?"

He looked confused. "As a person?"

She giggled. "Well, it looks as if he might be going after Ginny as well. Nat, play the clips."

Nat grabbed a different camera that was on the ground and hit playback. Harry was surprised to see clips of Blaise and Ginny talking, whispering, laughing, and even stealing glances at each other. He wasn't expecting that.

"Oh…"

"Certainly complicates things, now doesn't it?" Cindy asked with a smile.

He didn't even respond.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Blaise was being questioned by Jeff.

"Hey Blaise, how's it been?" Jeff said, shifting slightly on his boulder. Blaise, who was on a rock across from him, shrugged.

"Er… fine?"

"Great, great. So let's get down to this. So what do you think of Draco and Ginny?"

"As a couple? I think it's great for Draco."

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "For Draco… but what about Ginny?"

"It's great for her too."

"Is it now?"

Blaise, knowing the relationship was fake, just nodded.

"Well, we have something to show you." Jeff gestered for Carl to stop filming, and he grabbed a laptop from the corner. He handed it to Blaise, who looked at the open screen: it was _the Survive That_ website, open to a viewer voting page.

"It shows the viewer's opinion so far on couples and stuff. Who they think is the favorite character, who will end up together, who hates each other… things like that." Jeff explained. "Scroll down to the yellow heading."

Blaise did as he said, finding a bar graph that showed the most popular couples. He wasn't surprised to see Draco/Ginny and Draco/Hermione as the two most popular, with over 40 percent of the votes each, but he was shocked to see that he and Ginny had brought in over 30 percent of the votes.

"Surprised?" Jeff asked.

Blaise nodded. "But they've only seen two episodes- how much can they know?"

Jeff wiggled his eyebrows. "More than you might think."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Neville laughed heartily at the screen, watching the clip for the fourth time. Hannah walked in. "Again?"

"I just can't get over Malfoy getting pushed into the mud. It's too good."

"Really? I can't believe they showed personal footage. I wonder where they got that… only someone that's really close to them or has connections could get Christmas recordings and stuff." Hannah said. "And I still can't figure out who entered them…"

"I know," Neville said as he turned off the flat screen TV they had bought just to see their friends. "It wasn't Dean, Seamus, Ernie, Justin, Cho, or either of the Patil twins. I'm perplexed."

Hannah shrugged. "Whoever did enter them is either evil or pure genius."

"Or both."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Nearly 2000 words! Sorry for the slow update, I have 3 other fics to take care of. Check out my new poll, and I have posted the sequel to "Prisoner Unleashed". :) Yay!

REVIEW FOR NEXT CHAPTER!

Thanks!

~Potato


	9. Confession Sessions

A/N- Important note at the bottom.

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter Nine- Confession Sessions

"Hello, Miss Hermione!" Cindy smiled wide and gestured for Hermione to sit down on a log in front of her. "Welcome to your first Confession Session."

Hermione gave a weak smile and sat down, ignoring the camera that Nat was shoving in her face. Harry had been right when he ran into her on his way back to his shelter- Nat liked close-ups.

Cindy took a look at her list and let out a low whistle. "The people have a _lot_ of questions for you."

Hermione gave a weak smile. "Yay."

"Okay, question number one: Why is it that you, Harry, and Ron dislike Pansy, Blaise, and Draco so much? We know you have a rivalry, but could you go deeper for us?"

"Well, we were in different groups at school that just have always hated each other. Malfoy, from the very beginning, bullied us as children. And we never quite matured past that."

"This bullying… do you think he was really being mean?"

Hermione gave a short laugh. "Of course- what else could it be?"

"I think we all know that when a boy teases a girl, it means he likes her."

_Yeah, but not when he makes her front teeth multiply size by the hundreds…_ "I don't think that was the case with Malfoy and I. At all. Whatsoever."

Cindy looked like she was fighting back a laugh. "The public seems to disagree. 47 percent of all voters thought that you and Draco like each other."

Hermione gagged slightly. Blinking rapidly while trying to clear her throat, she shook her head. "But he and Ginny are dating."

"Not until tonight! The public doesn't know that yet, we haven't aired the episode… which brings me to my next question: What do you think of Ginny and Draco's relationship?"

Hermione thought for a moment on this one. She had to answer carefully. "Well… I honestly don't like it much, but I'm going to respect it. Ginny and Harry… they just sort of had this thing about them that Ginny and Malfoy are missing. And she just doesn't seem right for him."

"Oh? And who does?"

Hermione flushed, immediately regretting her word choice. "Er… I'm not quite sure… someone stuck-up, arrogant, and rich? And who doesn't mind having an albino for a boyfriend."

Cindy looked like she was biting back a laugh. "And-"

"Wait." Hermione interrupted. "Are all of these questions going to be about relationships?"

Cindy took a look at her list. "Um… pretty much."

"Great…" Cindy grinned, seeming to miss Hermione's sarcastic tone.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hello Ron," Jeff greeted his newest interviewee, who did not appear to be in the best mood.

"Hello." He replied in a monotone. Ron had decided to put on a bipolar act to make things more interesting.

"What put you in a bad mood?"

"My sister is dating a ferret."

Jeff nodded slowly. "Care to explain?"

"My twin sister is dating, very possibly, the most arrogant, stuck-up, evil, slimy little prick there ever was!"

"Uh-huh… by this I assume you mean Draco?"

Ron seethed. "You dare speak his name…"

Jeff blinked. "Moving on…" he looked at his list of questions. "What is your friendship with Harry like?"

Ron suddenly brightened, as if changing the subject was all that was needed to make him happy again. "Well, we met when we were eleven, and despite the fact that he often overshadowed me at times with his accomplishments, we were always good friends."

"And did this overshadowing ever cause conflicts?"

Ron's mind immediately flashed back to the Triwizard Tournament. "A bit."

"Do you think that it could cause any conflicts anymore?"

"I don't know… we've matured."

"Right…" Jeff seemed to doubt this. "Tell us about your relationship with Hermione."

"Well, we were best friends at school along with Harry, and we decided to try a relationship after school, but it just didn't work out."

"And do you think that this could change? I mean, being stuck here together and all."

Ron shrugged. "I don't know. I would like to try it again, but we both know it probably wouldn't work out."

"What do you mean by that? Is there someone in the way?"

"Uh… no."

"I heard Draco has his eyes on her."

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry, I just pass along the news."

"First Ginny and now Hermione… since when did flea-ridden creatures become attractive?" Ron was inwardly smiling- his little act was going to be popular with viewers for sure.

"Since they developed blonde hair and their own industries." Jeff replied.

But Ron wasn't listening, he had gotten up. "Excuse me while I leave and go talk to the one last sane woman on this island- Luna. And when she's the only one who hasn't lost her marbles, that is _definitely _saying something!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"What about Ron?" Cindy asked. "What do think about him?"

"Ron? Well, we were in a relationship for a while, but that's over now."

"Is it? For sure?"

"Yes." Hermione said firmly. "We're friends."

"Are you 100 percent certain?" Cindy pushed.

"Yes! Plus, I think he's interested in Pans-" she stopped in mid-sentence, not wanting to reveal what she was about to say.

Cindy raised her eyebrows. "Who?"

"No one."

"Who?"

"No one! Next question please."

Cindy looked down at her list again, knowing that Nat had caught Hermione's little slip on camera, and she could just listen to it later. "You work for Draco, correct?"

"Unfortunately."

"If you dislike it so much, why don't you just quit?"

"It pays well."

Cindy flashed her a sly smile. "Or do you have other motives for staying?"

"Such as…"

"I don't know… a crush?"

Hermione was getting exasperated with this whole thing. "I do not have a crush on Draco."

Cindy mocked surprise. "Who said anything about Draco? I could've been talking about Blaise."

"No, I just- it's that- I-" Hermione flushed.

"It's funny how you're mind jumps straight to him."

"You know what? Screw this." Hermione stood up, and turned to Nat. "I think we're done here. Cut!" And with that, she left the interviewing area.

Nat whistled as she left. "I agree with the 47 percent of our viewers. They've got tempers that are nearly identical."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hello there Ms Lovegood," Jeff greeted. "How are you?"

Luna smiled serenely. "Fine."

"Great, great… so how are you liking it here on the island."

"Pleasurable enough."

Jeff checked the piece of paper before him. "Some people are wondering if you've got personality disorders… is this true?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Luna didn't seem insulted by this piece of information at all. "But you can never be quite sure, can you?"

"Right… onto the next question. What is your relationship with Blaise on the island? 23 percent of all Blaise voters think you two would make a good couple."

"Do they now? That's interesting. But Blaise and I are barely friends, much less heading to a relationship."

"Do you think that could change?"

"Anything is subject to change."

"And that includes your relationship?"

"The word 'anything' includes everything."

"So you're not denying that you could end up dating?"

"No."

"You're not in any denial?"

"No. You sound surprised."

"Well, every other person we've interviewed today is disgusted and in complete denial about relationships. It makes me glad to know that one person here can admit it."

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I don't like Blaise. But I could change my mind. Not saying that I will, or that I particularly want to, but I might possibly if things play out in a certain way, or if fate just takes us there."

He paused for a moment, opened his mouth, then closed it again. "You know what? I think we're done. Thank you, Luna."

"You're very welcome."

Jeff shook his head. These people were so bloody complicated.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hello Draco," Cindy said, welcoming the blonde. "How are you?"

"Hungry, tired, dirty, and in desperate need to take a pee."

"That's… interesting."

Draco shrugged. "It was your idea to stick me on an island and then interview me in the middle of the day, not mine."

"You know what? Let's just get to questioning. Question number one… What led to you and Ginny's relationship? Because as far as we know, you were enemies one second and lovers the next."

Draco chuckled. "Well, after the scavenger hunt, both of us couldn't fall asleep, so we got to talking, and eventually…" Both him and Ginny had agreed on this story to feed the hosts.

"Oh, so it was a really quick decision."

"Um, yeah."

"Do you think that it might have been a bit too hasty?"

"No."

"I note that there's no 'definitely' or "for sure" paired up with that 'no'."

"Well…"

"Do you think it's a serious relationship?"

"Are you questioning the strength in our relationship?"

"No, I'm just-"

Draco waved his hand. "Next question please."

"Um… okay. Viewers are wondering about you and Pansy."

"Pansy?"

"Yes."

"_Pansy_?"

"That's what I said."

Draco looked straight at the camera. "There is absolutely nothing at all, whatsoever, romantic going on between Pansy Parkinson and I."

"Uh-huh… but she seems to want it."

"I'm taken."

"That can be changed."

"Not when it comes to Pansy!"

"What about Hermione?"

"N- wait, _Hermione_?"

"Yes… 47 percent of viewers think that you and her belong together."

Draco seemed to have been stunned still.

"Draco?"

"Excuse me- _what_? _47 percent_? What is wrong with people's minds these days?" Draco motioned to Nat, who came closer. He put his nose straight up to the lens and said, "You. People. Are. Mad."

"But are they really?" Cindy asked.

"Uh… yes?"

"But they wouldn't vote for you and Hermione unless they had a reason to."

Draco paled slightly. "Do we seem romantic?"

"Are you trying to be?" Cindy was hoping to confuse him enough to the point of revealing something.

"No. We hate each other."

"It doesn't seem like it."

"When does it not seem like that?"

"She comforted you and you allowed her to."

"What was I supposed to do? Push her away?"

"That's what people do when they hate each other."

"Are you saying you think we don't hate each other?"

"I don't know- are you saying that you don't?"

Draco sighed. "I don't like Hermione."

"Ha! You called him by her first name."

"So?"

"So you've always called her 'Granger.' This is taking a big step."

"I'm dating Weasley for God's sake!"

Cindy pointed her finger. "You called your girlfriend Weasley- her surname."

Draco's eyes widened. "Slip of the tongue."

"I think not."

"I am Draco Malfoy. Owner of Malfoy Industries. Hermione Granger's boss and the cause of many tears that she shed as a child. I do not have a crush on her."

"Funny… that's exactly what Hermione said."

"She was talking about me?"

Cindy picked at her nail. "A bit."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "What did she say?"

"Why do you care?"

"I do not stand for Mu- filth like her talking about someone like me behind my back!"

"Alright then. Nat, show him the clips."

Nat leaned over and played back part of Hermione's interview.

_Hermione thought for a moment on this one. She had to answer carefully. "Well… I honestly don't like it much, but I'm going to respect it. Ginny and Harry… they just sort of had this thing about them that Ginny and Malfoy are missing. And she just doesn't seem right for him." _

"_Oh? And who does?" _

_Hermione flushed, immediately regretting her word choice. "Er… I'm not quite sure… someone stuck-up, arrogant, and rich? And who doesn't mind having an albino for a boyfriend." _

"I am not albino!" Draco said. Nat snorted a bit, to which Draco glared.

"But why do you care what she says about you?"

"She doesn't deserve to call me that."

"And you deserve to call her names?"

"Yes," he replied smugly.

"I find your logic flawed."

"I find this whole interview flawed! Is there a time limit for this thing?"

"No."

"So you can hold me here as long as you want?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, I don't feel like staying here for that long."

"Why? Afraid of admitting something you're holding inside?"

Draco stood up. "I have nothing held inside of me!"

"I don't think you're telling the truth."

"I don't think I should have to stand for your probing in my private business any longer," he turned away to leave. "See you next time, Cindy!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Well, I hit just over 2000 words, so I thought I should stop there. You'll see the remaining (2?) interviews next chapter. :)

IMPORTANT NOTE: I am completely stuck between Blaise/Luna and Harry/Ginny or Harry/Luna and Blaise/Ginny. Normally I have a preference or something, but I'm going 50 percent for both. So PLEASE review telling me which one I should do. I'll take it into consideration, a LOT! I NEED your help. Thanks!

Other important note: Should I get a beta for this? And will someone tell me how that works? Please? Thanks.

REVIEW! Answer my questions, but please give feedback as well.

~Potato


	10. Conversations by the Fire

A/N- Okay, so Ginny/Blaise Harry/Luna won by a lot. Like, fifteen I think. I stopped keeping track when I started writing the chapter. I have the couples chosen, and they are NOT necessarily the ships that won. Let me put it this way- by the end of the fic, you might be surprised. Might. No promises.

THANK YOU for all the reviews. Soooo many, sooo nice, sooo cool

Thank you to my 200th reviewer- **obsessivepottercullendisorder!**

Enjoy this chapter! Sorry it's later than usual. Expect that now, for many reasons. (PS- Didn't read through this chapter before posting, sorry.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hermione, I'm hungry," Harry and Ron were laying on the dirt floor of the forest, complaining loudly about the lack of glucose currently in their systems.

Hermione, however, wasn't paying them a bit of attention- she was contemplating to herself when she and Malfoy had ever hinted at even slightly liking each other. The viewers' reasoning had to have come from somewhere, but she couldn't find the exact location.

Maybe they just thought they looked good together… But they didn't- did they? Or maybe it was something along the lines of 'There's a thin line between love and hate'. Hermione couldn't deny that, there certainly was- just look at Ginny and Malfoy.

And what was with that? They made an awful couple, in Hermione's opinion. Harry and Ginny, or even Blaise and Ginny, made a much better couple. She just wasn't right for Draco, he needed someone… different. Not saying that that person was her! It could be… Pansy… or Luna… oh, who was she kidding? No one else on this island besides her seemed fit to be with Draco. She was screwed.

"Argh!" Hermione pounded a fist onto the log in front of her in anger. Harry and Ron looked bewildered.

"Okay, if you didn't want to get us any food, all you had to do was say so," Harry said.

Hermione suddenly became aware of her surroundings. "Oh, sorry, it's just-"

She was interrupted by the rustling of bushes around them, and out stepped Ginny and Draco, hand-in-hand.

"Hallelujah!" Ron exclaimed, ignoring even Draco for his need of calories. "Ginny, I need food."

Ginny responded by giving her own slightly flatter stomach a glance. "Speaking of food, I haven't had any today either." She looked around, then an idea struck her. She gave Draco a simpering look. "Draco? Could you get us some food?"

Draco sent her a little glare. "I suppose so." He made to leave, but before he did, he leaned down to her and whispered. "You are _so_ milking this relationship thing."

Once he was gone, Ginny sat down with the others. It was the first time the four of them had been alone since she had begun 'dating' Draco. And it was awkward.

Ron was angry, quite obviously. He had called Ginny a traitor many times, and now his ears were tinted pink. That was always a sign of incoming anger.

Harry was avoiding making all eye contact, trying to conceal his very obvious jealousy. Every couple seconds he would look at her for just a second with an expression of slight longing and even apology.

Hermione was looking everywhere but at the three of them, finding the air of the whole situation quite awkward. For some reason, she felt sympathy towards Harry, like she could almost relate to him.

Ginny was looking at her feet. She was sorry for the fact she had to fake it and make all her friends angry, but she really thought they should let it go. After all, they would have to accept it when Hermione and Draco began dating for real. (And she was sticking to it that they _would_ fall in love eventually.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"So, Miss Parkinson," Jeff shifted on his rock and sifted through his collection of questions. "How are you doing today?"

Pansy pursed her lips and nodded. "Fine."

"Are you… sure?" Pansy looked less than fine: her hair was wet and tangled, her clothes were damp and rather dirty, and her shoes weren't matching.

"I'm fine!" she snapped. "I just had trouble finding my way back to my shelter."

"Okay then," Jeff said. "Onto your questions! Number one- how are you liking the island so far?"

"I don't."

"Okay… then why did you come?"

"I have my reasons."

"Alright then, next question. What do you think of Draco and Ginny?"

Pansy laughed. "Oh, come now. That's fake."

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "It is?"

"Of course! It's obvious that Draco is interested in me."

Carl gave Jeff a look that clearly said: _This woman is crazy. _

"So then you're not a supporter of Draco and Hermione?"

Pansy nearly fell off her rock. "Of course not! That's insane!"

"Many people would with argue you on that."

Pansy's eyes narrowed. "So Granger's interested in him?"

Jeff shrugged. "She denies it."

"Good… good."

Carl was now shaking his head. Jeff moved on to the next question. "Where do you work, Pansy?"

Pansy looked appalled. "I don't."

"You don't?"

"I inherited a lot of money."

"So did Draco…"

Pansy waved her hand dismissively. "He likes to waste his life like that. Psh. Jobs…"

"Uh-huh. What do you like to do?"

"Shop."

"Of course," he said under his breath. "And what makes you think you and Draco belong together?"

"Well, we would have a lot of money, it would be smart for our images, and our kids would be adorable." Pansy listed.

Jeff blinked. Was she really as shallow as she sounded? "Well Pansy, it was nice talking to you."

"I'm sure it was."

Carl snorted, then covered it up with a cough.

"Bye."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Draco returned with a couple scratches decorating his arms and a large dead bird in his hand. Ron and Harry looked ready to actually thank him.

"What's that?" Hermione asked reproachfully.

"A bird." Draco said simply.

"And what are we going to do with it?"

"Eat it." Harry said.

"Oh no- don't tell me you're going to go all_ spew_ on us," said Ron.

"No, I'm not, I just don't know if it's safe to eat."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid, Granger-" Ron gave a little cough here, "-I checked. I know charms for these sorts of things."

"You mean ones similar to the charms you used to catch the bird the first place? Because I think we all know you couldn't have done it by yourself."

"Shut it Granger, and conjure up a fire."

Ginny stood up. "Here." She gathered up a couple skinny logs and took out her wand. "_Incendio_." Tongues of flame slithered out of her wand and lit the logs on fire.

"There better not be any cameras," Hermione said. "Because I really don't want to have to do any memory charms again."

"Lighten up, Hermione." Ron said as his mouth watered over the smell of cooking meat.

They plucked the bird and had it cooking when the bushes began to rustle again and Cindy stepped into scene. "I need Ginn- what are you doing?"

The others panicked slightly. Hermione stepped in front of the fire. "We're… cooking. Food."

Draco nearly slapped his forehead in exasperation. "I caught a bird," he clarified. "And we're cooking it."

Cindy raised an eyebrow. "_You_ caught a bird."

"Yes! I'm not some rich boy who can't fend for himself." At this, Ron snorted again, to which Draco glared.

"Well, I guess that's great," Cindy gave the fire a suspicious glance, but didn't say anything. "I came here, however, to remind Miss Weasley that she was supposed to show up at the Clearing for her Confession Session five minutes ago."

Ginny jumped up. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"It's alright," Cindy said. "Just follow me."

Once they left, Ron let out a 'phew' noise. "She bought it!"

"Although she did look skeptical about the fire," Hermione said.

"Who said we can't make a fire? Muggles do it all the time," said Harry as he turned the bird on the stake.

"But we aren't Muggles, Potter." Draco leaned on a log on the ground and sighed.

Something then clicked in Ron's mind. "Hey- I haven't gotten around to talking to you yet," He walked up to Draco. "If you even dare-"

"-hurt Ginny in any way, you'll hex me into the next century and beyond." Draco finished in a bored voice.

"N-bu-yeah, pretty much," Ron said. He looked at Harry as if asking him if there was anything else they needed to threaten Draco about.

Harry shrugged. "Treat her well, Malfoy. Or it's us you have to answer to." His tone wasn't very threatening, however.

For a moment, Draco felt bad for him. He looked genuinely depressed about Ginny. Then he snapped out of it- they would end up together in the end… hopefully.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hello Miss Weasley," Cindy said, picking out Ginny's question sheet. "Welcome…"

"Hi."

"Okay, first question: How are you liking the island?"

Ginny shrugged. "It's not that bad."

"Good, good. Um… where do you work?"

"I'm a professional…" she thought for a moment. _What was that Muggle sport Harry had told her about?_ "busketball player."

_Busketball?_ "You mean basketball?" Cindy asked.

Ginny turned a bit red. "That's… what I said."

"Right… Question number three, then. What do you see in Draco?"

Ginny wasn't expecting this. "Well… he's nice enough. Very funny. And he looks nice."

"Okay…" Cindy said. "Do you think that's enough to base a relationship off of?"

"We're doing it, aren't we?"

"It's been two days."

"And something just tells me it will last."

Cindy shrugged. "Question number four: How does he compare to Harry?"

Ginny froze. "No comment."

"Why not?"

"You can't question me on something I didn't say."

"Fine- you're friends with Hermione?"

"Yes."

"Good friends?"

"Yes."

"What if she stole Draco from you?"

"Is she going to? Did she tell you that?" Ginny said, a little more excitedly than she should have.

"Well no, but-"

"I think that if anyone deserves Draco besides me, it would be Hermione."

"Oh."

"Yup."

"Do you get along with your twin?"

"My t- oh, Ron. We get along well enough."

"Is he happy about Draco?"

"Of course not."

"That's rather expected. Does he like Blaise, though?"

"I don't know, actually. They don't really talk much. Although I expect he'd like him more than Mal-Draco."

"Ah… okay then. Thank you Ginny."

"See you." Ginny got up and left.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"What's that smell?" Blaise asked, jumping over a large tree root. Luna followed behind him. "It's burning."

"Then it's fire," Luna said. The two of them had met up after their Sessions and had been trying to find the others.

"How did they make a fire? There's no way five wizards could make a fire."

"Magic." Luna said in an obvious voice.

Blaise turned a little red. "Right."

"I wonder if they're cooking. I'm hungry."

At this, Blaise had a little urge to find food. He shook it off. "Let's hope so- I'm hungry as well."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Pansy shook off the spiderweb with a shriek, then jumped in the air. Stupid forest and its stupid creatures. She was really beginning to regret coming on this island, especially if Weasley already got Draco and Granger might be trying to get him as well.

But wasn't Weasley checking her out? Maybe she could just settle for him…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The four had finished cooking the bird, and were now cutting it with Hermione's pocket knife, when she remembered something.

"So Malfoy… I just wanted to thank you for trying to save me. Key word- trying. Even though I really didn't need it."

Draco looked sour. "You're not going to let that go, are you? It's like the ferret thing all over again."

Hermione ignored him, continuing on. "And did you hear about that 47 percent of a certain group of people who think-"

"You can stop talking now."

"-oh, I'm not done. They think we like each other."

Ron and Harry stopped cutting the bird and gaped. "_What_?"

"And you know… they must get those ideas from somewhere. So I was just wondering… _what have you been doing_?"

Draco stood up. "What have _I_ been doing? I was going to ask the same thing about you."

"Where would they get the idea we like each other from _me_? There must be something you've been doing. Or saying."

"I'm dating Weas- Ginny! I couldn't be showing any interest in you," Draco said, looking smug.

Ron stepped in. "Hermione doesn't like you. She never has. She never will. My sister is the only traitor- we are keeping Hermione pure."

Draco snorted. "Tell that to 47 percent of _Survive This_ viewers."

Just as Harry was going to retort when the bushes began to rustle for the second time, and out stepped Blaise and Luna.

"I knew you were cooking something!" Blaise said, grabbing the discarded pocketknife and picking himself a piece of bird.

Luna counted heads. "Wait- where's Pansy?"

Draco shrugged, attacking the bird as well. "I thought she was with you."

"We thought she was with you." Blaise said.

"Oh well," Harry shrugged. "Does anyone want to get her?"

"No." Hermione said.

"No… I'm vegetarian, I need to find something I can eat," Luna said.

"I'm eating. Don't get between me and my food," said Blaise.

"If I 'rescue' her, it'll give her ideas," Draco looked scared at the mere thought.

Everyone looked at Ron.

"Fine…" he grumbled. "Just let me finish this piece."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Wow this chapter was supposed to go much farther, but the whole bird thing came out, so I went with it. (Does that happen to anyone else? Like you have a plan, but your characters say things that lead to actions that take the plot into random places? Tell me if that happens to you.)

So like I said, I now have my couples planned out. And things can change at any time on an island. :)

Please review! The amount I got for the last chapter was remarkable and insanely large. I'm not asking for that much, but please review! Here- I'll give you a question- tell me an inside joke between you and your friends. Explanation not necessary, I just love hearing them. :) My friends and I have hundreds.

REVIEW!

~Potato


	11. Truth or Dare

A/N- "My name is Draco Malfoy. I am, a racist. I despise gingers… and Mudbloods. I hate Gryffindor house. My parents work for the man who killed your parents would you like to be my friend?"

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or the quote above, which is my newest favorite from AVPS. (A Very Potter Sequel) :) The idea of Luna, and her personality excuse, was borrowed/slightly modified from a fic by Twizardck. It's a one-shot, I recommend checking it out. :)

Warning: I haven't posted in awhile, so I posted this without editing more than I usually do. Sorry! I did edit, though. Just not as much.

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Chapter 10- Truth or Dare

Pansy was upset. She could smell something burning from across the island, but she really didn't want to walk. She was wet, but had no towel. She was lonely, but it wasn't like anyone actually wanted to talk to her.

She was picking at a loose thread on her designer blouse when she heard footsteps a couple yards away, but there were trees in the way of the dirt trail.

"Who's there?" she asked shrilly. "Who are you?"

The rustling grew louder, and there were a couple grunts.

Pansy's eyes widened and she grabbed the sandal off her foot. "I'm armed!"

Then the brambles flew open, and a large red thing stumbled before her.

Pansy shrieked, jumped backward, and threw her sandal and the thing's face. "What are you?"

Ron stood up, rubbing a red spot on his face. "Merlin, Parkinson, it's just me- who else is supposed to be here?"

"I don't know- a kidnapper?"

"Don't be stupid," Ron said. "And what are your shoes made out of? That was like cement."

Pansy blushed. "They're charmed to do that."

"Oh, thanks."

"Sorry, sorry… so what do you want?"

"I was sent by the others to come find you."

"You volunteered?"

"No, no one else wanted to come."

Pansy frowned. "You're supposed to say 'yes' and make me feel better."

Ron shrugged. "I'm not that type of person. Get used to it." He turned around and began to walk back to where he came from.

Pansy smiled a little as she walked behind him. "Neither am I," she whispered.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Cindy frowned at the screen before her. She had gathered some footage from the camera in the clearing where the contestants were cooking a large bird, but she couldn't figure something out. A leaf was covering half of the camera lens, so she could only see a pile of wood. She could also see Ginny's foot. Then, a moment later, a stream of flame appeared and lit the wood on fire. She couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

She pressed a button on her remote, and zoomed in. Then she rewound it. And when she squinted, really, really hard, she could see the very tip of something wooden. With fire coming out of it.

And that was when she realized something.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Yes, Jeff, I've figured it out," Tom said into his home phone. "I've done it."

"Well, then, what is it?" Jeff asked.

Tom clicked on the raw footage Jeff had sent him from earlier that morning. "It's simple- they're faking it."

"What- who?"

"The Weasley girl and Draco. It's not real."

Jeff stopped dead in his tracks. "How do you know?"

Tom sneered. "You can't tell? If you watch the footage carefully, you can see a slight look of disgust on both of their faces whenever someone stops watching them. And if they turn around again, both of them out on a lover's face. It's an act, and a rather well-played out one."

"But why? And what do I do?"

"Why? I have no idea. What do you do? Break them up, of course."

"You're sure?"

"Of course I'm- wait," Tom thought for a moment, and then something hit him. "Never mind, scratch that, I get it now! Keep them together, set up some sort of romantic date, and make sure the rest of them see. Or at least two of them. You know what? I'll just email you. Tell you the rest."

"Um… sure. Okay then-"

_Click._ He had hung up.

"Well, he sure is polite," Jeff whispered. Then he shrugged, and kept walking.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"I'm bored," announced Hermione.

"Me too," said Ron.

"Me three," said Harry.

"Shut up," said Draco.

Everyone was done eating, and laying on their backs, basking in the mid-afternoon sun.

"Let's play truth or dare," Luna suggested.

Draco snorted. "Is that what you would play in the Gryffindor common room? Truth or dare? Pathetic, that is."

"I'm sure you did much better," Ron said, sitting up. "What did you do, discuss different ways to mutilate first years?"

"That was only on Wednesday nights," said Blaise. "Usually, for those of us who would actually socialize, we would find different ways to rip each other off. Or talk about girls."

Pansy wrinkled her nose. "Those were definitely not PG-rated conversations."

"Harry, truth or dare," Luna interrupted, abruptly changing the conversation in a very Luna-like way.

"Er… truth?"

"Don't lie, okay? I'll be able to tell. So… what do you sleep with at night?"

Harry blushed. "I… um… well, a small stuffed bear."

Ginny gasped.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Oh- nothing, it's… it's nothing."

"Your turn, Harry," Luna said.

"Okay- Parkinson. Truth or dare?"

"Um… dare. I've got a lot to hide."

Harry thought for a moment, then grinned. "Next chance you get on camera, I want you to tell the world that you always have had a crush on a boy named Neville Longbottom."

Pansy gasped. "No."

"You can't!" Luna said. "Magical contract, I cast one when no one was looking."

"Ughh!" Pansy groaned, then narrowed her eyes at Harry. "You die for that one, Potter. Okay… Granger, truth or dare?"

"Um… truth."

"Okay- if you had to rate the four guys in this group, four being the hottest, one being the ugliest, who would you give each number to?"

Hermione's jaw dropped. "That's hard!"

Pansy shrugged. "That's one of my easier ones, and trust me, I've played a lot."

"Well… um, since Harry's my best friend and I've just never seen him like that, I'd have to give him the one. I'd give the two to Dr-" she frowned. "Dr- dra-dr- _why can't I say his name_?"

Luna smiled slightly. "Charm. You can't lie during the game."

Draco looked both repulsed and a bit flattered. "You don't think I'm uglier than Weasley?"

"You wish," Hermione said under her breath, then rushed her next words. "Fine- Two for Blaise, three for Ron, four for Draco. Luna- truth or dare?"

"Dare." Luna sang.

The others had ignored her, hower, to take a moment to process what Hermione had just admitted. Pansy was looking venomous, Blaise was smiling wide, Ginny was fighting to hide a smile, Harry was looking at Hermione like he had never seen her before, and Ron had fallen off of his seat.

Draco, on the other hand, was taking short gasps of shocked laughter. "Did she… did she just say…"

"Dare," Luna repeated.

Hermione, who was flushing bright red, said: "Pat your head."

Luna did as she was told. "Okay, Draco- truth or dare?"

Draco, who was still gasping, didn't think. "Um, truth."

"Really?" Luna said- even she was surprised. "You really want to tell us something?"

"Wait! No, no, dare!"

"Too late! Let's see, what to have you admit… ah! If there was one thing you regret saying to anyone here in this group, who was it, and what did you say?"

Draco thought carefully. "I… kind of have two."

"Well, say them both."

"I don't want to say one."

"Too bad." Ron laughed at this.

"Fine… well, the first was agreeing to come to this island when Blaise asked me. And the second was… well… it was… insulting Hagrid before Hermione slapped me."

"Really?" Luna said. "Why?"

"One question only, please. I'll leave that up for your personal interpretation. Um… well, Blaise- truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Okay…" Draco said. "I dare you to- to… run screaming, stark naked, to Cindy and Jeff's place tonight."

"What?" Blaise said. "That is so primary school! And- and- completely uncalled for, Luna got to pat her head!"

Draco shrugged. "I'm not Hermione."

"And I'm tired of this game," Blaise said. "Don't we have something better to do?"

"No," Ron said. "Look-" he pointed at the sky. "It's probably around five right now."

There was a moment of silence, due to the lack of conversation material. Everyone went back to laying on their backs, staring at the night sky.

"Hey, Hermione?" Draco said.

"What?"

"You know that packet of paperwork I had Erin sent you two weeks ago? Did you ever finish it?"

Hermione had to turn slightly to face Draco. "Really? _Really_, Malfoy?"

Draco shrugged. "I have a company to run."

"And it's currently a thousand miles away."

There was another moment of silence. Then- "Hey Hermione."

"_What_, Malfoy?"

"So you think I'm the best looking out of all of us here?"

"It's not like I have much of a choice."

"Hey!" Ron said, but both of them ignored him.

"You dated Weasley… so shouldn't you have chosen him?"

"There's a reason we're broken up."

"I think you're jealous of Ginny."

"Why would I be?"

"Because she's dating me and you think I'm hot."

"I am not jealous of Ginny."

"You're an excellent liar, but not quite good enough."

"Bu- wha- _why is no one helping me here?_" Hermione said, looking at the others. All of them had sat up slightly, and were watching the two of them with amused expressions.

"Well… I suppose we should probably go to our shelters now," Luna said. "Although Cindy didn't tell us where to go, so I suppose we should just…"

"Well, since there's no use running around trying to gather all of our things and move them, we should all just sleep in one place tonight," Harry said.

"I reckon there's enough space in the cave for all of us," said Ron.

Ginny got up. "Alright, let's go then."

The others lifted themselves from the ground and Blaise took the lead, walking into the bushes. As Harry left, he felt a hand on his shoulder- Ginny.

"Wait, walk back here with me," she said.

Harry shrugged. "Okay." The two of them were in the back of the line.

"So… you said you still sleep with that bear."

Harry flushed red. "Yeah… yeah, I do."

"You won that for me on our first Muggle date. And I gave it back," Ginny said. She was smiling slightly, happy that Harry still cared that much.

"I know- so what?"

Ginny immediately drew back slightly. "I just…"

"What do you care, Ginny, you have Draco. Why aren't you walking over with him anyway?"

"I-"

"Save it, Ginny, I don't get why you care."

Ginny was about to get very angry, but then realized something. "You're jealous of Draco, aren't you? You're mad at him."

Harry squinted. "Mad at Malfoy? It's not him I'm upset at, it's you." And with those words, he stormed ahead and began walking in the front.

Ginny watched him with hurt eyes. That was not how it was supposed to go. She kept her head ducked and kept trailing in the back. A moment later, she felt someone next to her.

"Hey, Ginny." It was Blaise.

She looked up. "Hi."

"What happened with Harry?"

"He's upset about Draco."

"It's that how our plan was supposed to go?"

"Yeah, but he was supposed to be mad at Malfoy, not me."

"Oh…"

They walked side-by-side in silence, Ginny looking at the ground, Blaise looking at her every once at awhile. He could understand why she had a new boyfriend every other month at Hogwarts, she was quite pretty.

"If you want, we can end it now," Blaise offered.

"End what?"

"The 'relationship'."

Ginny sighed. "It doesn't make a difference. Harry didn't seem to care much when we got together anyway, he was mostly silent. And I'm sick of everyone thinking we were dating, and I suppose they're going to stop buying it soon, we aren't even acting like it."

"True, true… I'll talk to him about it, okay?" Blaise said.

Ginny looked at him and smiled. "Thanks."

Blaise walked up to Draco and pulled him to the side. "Hey, Ginny's ready to give up on the two of you, are you okay with that? Has Pansy given up?"

Draco smirked, and gave a small nod to his left. Pansy and Ron were having what looked like a very awkward conversation.

"That's… really nice, and extremely creepy at the same time," Blaise said. "So you guys can end it then? That has got to be a record for the shortest relationship ever- and Pansy didn't even get mad about it. Well, I'll let you two work out how to do that, and you might as well get it on camera, okay?"

"Okay."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Forty-five minutes later, all eight of them were in the cave, and six of them were fast asleep. Luna was pressed next to Blaise, who was shifting in his jacket-bed.

"Blaise? You're awake."

"Yup," Blaise turned over, facing her. "I am."

"I can't fall asleep."

"Why not?"

"…I often can't fall asleep."

"D'you… d'you want to talk about it?"

Luna took a deep breath. "I've never really told anyone about it before."

"Well, you don't have to if you-"

"But I think it's about time I did."

"Well… go right ahead."

Luna nodded, her sweater crinkling below her head. "My mum died when I was really young, in a potions accident."

"Really?" Blaise said.

"Yes, I was there too. It was all very scarring, it was, lots of blood. Screaming, poofs of smoke and fire. I was crying a lot."

"That's awful."

"It was. Afterward, I didn't speak for three weeks and four days. And when I began talking again, I was different. People said my voice became softer, and my walk more flighty. I was more whimsical and paid much more attention to my surroundings. But that wasn't really who Luna was, it was just a Luna who had experienced something so scarring, so scary…"

"I… I'm sorry, Luna."

"It's quite alright, you think I'd be over it, how many years later now." Luna let out a little dry laugh. "But I'm not. And honestly, I've kept the act up for so long, that it's my personality now. It used to be a cover I made up to hide under, but now… now it's me."

Blaise was searching her face in the dark, she was so serious. It was such a different Luna. "That's perfectly fine, though. Everyone may call you Loony, and crazy, but that's fine, that's just you, right?"

"Right… Sometimes I wished I hadn't become like this, but I just feel more free now. Like I can do whatever I please, and people dismiss it as 'Just Luna being Luna'." She said.

Blaise nodded. "Feel better?"

"I kind of do. Thanks."

"Sure thing."

"But I'd fall asleep soon, some magical bats come out at midnight, and they prey on the awake."

Blaise turned around to face the wall and grinned. There was Luna. "Okay then- Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- WOOOOO! That was the longest time it has probably ever taken me to write a chapter. And although you may not have seen it, this chapter had a TON of plot advancement… but only I know what it's all for. :)

Okay, so updates will be REALLY slow now, because I have loads of homework now. Sorry, deal with it, but in another month or so I'll have a couple weeks off, so I'll write lots of chapters and release one every once and awhile so they're more regular.

IF YOU HAVEN'T, GO WATCH 'A VERY POTTER SEQUEL' RIGHT NOW OR I WILL BE VERY MAD. It was amazing. Awesome. Epic. No words can describe how HILARIOUS it was. Although I like the first one more, this one had so much more of a plot, and the music was more mature. I loved it. Go watch it.

Since there are slow updates, go check out my newest one-shots, and another is coming soon. The newest installment of "I Have No Idea" is posted on potatofanaticwriter3's profile. It's short, but I'm writing the next one and it's a Dramione. :) Yay.

So yeah, there's that. Please review. Comment on ANYTHING! This chapter, AVPS, AVPM, one-shots, my homework… :)

Thanks! Review!

~Potato


	12. iPods

A/N- Yay! For all you fluff-lovers, this chapter is for you. Okay, it's not complete fluff, but it's pretty much a very long conversation. Dedicated to Draco and Hermione. Very short.

I re-posted the last chapter because I accidentally called Jeff 'Jim' throughout the entire thing. Thanks for telling me you guys- not! Good thing I noticed it myself. Just joking, you all are awesome. :)

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter (he's JK Rowling's) the iPod (I'm pretty sure that's Steve Job's) or the song Tik Tok (I'm pretty sure that belongs to Ke$ha).

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter 11- iPods

Hermione woke the next morning far before anyone else; the sun still hadn't risen. She got up quietly and was careful not to awake anyone as she got dressed in the corner. Creeping quietly around the edge of the cave, she grabbed her backpack and climbed down to the dirt below. Then she took off to where she had remembered some papaya trees were planted.

Draco woke, literally, thirty seconds after Hermione had left. The first thing he noticed was that it was much too early for him to be up- he was going to get bags under his eyes- and then that the bed next to him was empty. Hermione had left.

Wiping the sleep from corners of his eyes, Draco got up and slipped on a dry t-shirt. He tiptoed carefully to his sneakers, slipped them on, and left the cave to find something to eat. He vaguely remembered Hermione telling them something about papaya trees.

Hermione smiled as she heard the small birds up in the trees tweeting as the sun began to rise. It reminded her of her small house when she was a child, she would always wake up to birds singing, much like those cheesy movies.

Draco frowned at the incessant tweeting of the birds in the trees as he walked down the dirt trails. He remembered how, as a child, his father would _Stupefy_ the birds at the Manor down one by one in the morning if they got too annoying.

Hermione walked down the path and squinted at the uprising sun. She could see the trees just a few yards away, and her mouth watered at the thought of breakfast. She leaped up and grabbed a few fresh papayas, savoring every bite. Then she walked through some brush and sat on a tree stump nearby, and, after checking to make sure no one was around, she reached into her backpack and pulled out her iPod.

Draco shielded his eyes from the sun as he walked towards the fruit trees, then took out his wand and charmed a few down. He bit into one, and winced at the overbearing sweetness. Then he turned around and began to walk, carefully maneuvering himself through some underbrush. Once he was through, he nearly jumped when he saw a thin figure sitting on a tree stump in front of him- it was Hermione.

Hermione sat and nodded her head to the beat of her music. She failed to notice as someone crashed through the brush behind her.

Draco frowned. Why hadn't she heard him, he had literally fallen through. He walked closer to her, thumping the ground with every step. Still no response, she only nodded her head. He could see some wires coming from her ears- what had she done? Was she possessed?

Hermione could faintly hear a thumping behind her, but she dismissed it as island wildlife noises. She just turned the volume up higher.

Draco watched as Hermione pressed a button on some rectangular object connected to the wire plugged in her ears. He had enough- what was going on?

Hermione was about to shuffle her music when there was a tap on her shoulder. Immediately, she jumped up and shrieked. "_Aaah_!"

Draco drew back. "Hi."

Hermione gasped for breath as she leaned over to pick up her fallen iPod. "What do you think you're doing, Draco? I'm wearing earbuds, I can't hear you!"

"What… what is that?" Draco pointed to her iPod. Hermione laughed, and sat back down on her stump.

"You don't know? Oh, that's right, you don't sell these at the company."

"Then they're Muggle?"

"It's an iPod," Hermione said, pressing the home button, then sliding open the lock on her touch screen. "You listen to music through it."

"I didn't hear music when I was watching you…"

"You were watching-… never mind," Hermione said. "You listen to the music through these" she held up the earbuds, "and no one else can hear it."

"Really?" Draco was actually interested.

"Yeah, here, listen," Hermione held up an earbud. Draco awkwardly walked over and put it in his ear. Hermione turned up the volume.

Seven seconds into the song, Draco pulled out his earbud and frowned. "What is this?"

Hermione looked down at her iPod. "Music."

"_That_ is the crap Muggles listen to?"

"It's not that bad!" Hermione said. "Sure, it's no Weird Sisters, but I think she's pretty decent."

"What is that even called?"

"_Tik Tok_," Hermione said. "It's quite popular right now."

"I pity your people."

"Shut up!" Hermione smacked his arm.

Draco took the iPod out of her hand and inspected it. "Isn't this considered 'an electronic item'?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, and snatched it back.

"Those were banned, Granger," Draco said.

"So?"

Draco put a hand over his heart and put on a face of mock surprise. "I cannot believe it. Hermione Granger has broken the rules."

"I can break rules, Draco, how else do you think Harry, Ron and I got through Hogwarts?" Hermione smiled.

"Yes, but- did you even hear what people used to say about you? 'There goes Granger, with her six or so books in her arms and her hair in a mess' or 'That's Hermione Granger, she's never done a thing wrong in her life'."

Hermione shrugged. "Everyone has their image, Draco. It was like, everyone expected me to get perfect scores, expected me to keep Harry and Ron in line, expected me to never look pretty. I was okay with that. But people… they also kind of expected me and Ron to get together. It was one of those things that people saw coming this entire time. I was kind of tired of that, you know?"

Draco nodded. "Strangely enough, I can actually relate. Pansy and my relationship was so expected it was practically arranged. My whole life was arranged for me. I grow up, I get good grades, I never, ever let my family look bad, I hang out with all the pureblood students, when I get older I join Voldemort and I fight the good guys until I'm Avada'd by an Order member."

"That didn't happen to you."

"Yeah, well, one day I got pushed over on my way to Potion's by a first year, I fell over, and got some sense knocked into me."

Hermione laughed. "Really?"

"Well… only partially. As much as I would hate to admit this to anyone, it was kind of your and Potter's fault I'm not dead right now."

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "I don't recall doing anything."

"It was all indirect. I would see you in the hallways, whispering, always _together. _And I realized that you had choices. You were making choices; you were planning, what you were going to do. So I took a leaf from Potter's book and decided to actually have my own opinion. And honestly, fighting for Voldemort only to be sacrificed wasn't my number one option."

Hermione laughed again. "Kind of sucks that it was all for nothing, huh? Voldemort just turns around- 'oh, I'm sorry, I'll repent, just don't kill me'."

Draco chuckled. "Yeah…"

There was a moment of very awkward, very long silence, the kind that most people edit out of their vlogs, the kind where people watching TV at home go to take a quick bathroom break, the kind where it's okay for your mom to keep vacuuming, because nothing important is happening anyway. That kind of awkward silence.

Draco broke it. "So… what d'you reckon they'll have us do today?"

"I don't know," Hermione slid off of the stump to the ground and leaned her head against it. "But I can guarantee it's going to be something embarrassing, painful, or dangerous."

"I'm getting used to that."

"So…" Another lengthy pause. "You know last night? You said that you regretted insulting Hagrid that one time, before I slapped you. Why?"

Draco took a deep breath. "I really don't want to say."

"Oh… well, that's fine."

Yet another pause. Then Draco spoke. "Hey… you know the staircase up to your office? At work?"

"Yeah," Hermione said. "What about it?"

"You know that stair, the second to last one. Does your foot ever get stuck in it?"

"Yeah. Very often, actually."

"Hm… Well, remind me to fix that when we get back. You didn't complain about it, so it really wasn't a very worthwhile trick."

Hermione didn't bother to get angered. "So juvenile, Draco, I didn't see reason to go to you about it. But see, a person like myself is intelligent enough to actually hop _over_ it in the morning once we realize our foot will get stuck in it."

Draco nodded slowly. "Didn't think about that."

"Of course you didn't."

Draco looked up at the sky. "It's morning, the others will be waking up soon. We better go back before they see our empty beds and figure we've killed each other."

Hermione stood up and grabbed her backpack. "And why ever would we do that?"

Draco gave her a look. "I'm Draco Malfoy. You're Hermione Granger. Enough said."

Hermione began to walk back to their shelter, and Draco followed. "Yet we were just together for twenty minutes, willingly, and we had a perfectly decent conversation. No external bleeding involved."

"I'm proud."

Hermione snorted. "Yeah, maybe now my co-workers will stop complaining that we yell too loud at each other at work."

"It is not my fault that you scream like an ill hippogriff crossed with a dying house-elf."

"And it's not _my_ fault that you got mad at me because my new pair of shoes left a skid mark on your freshly-polished hallway."

Draco shrugged. "Irrational arguments are always more fun."

"Not when you're on the receiving end."

"Come on, Hermione, you're a great debate partner."

"Did you just compliment me?" Hermione stopped in her tracks and put on a fake face like Draco had just morphed into a Sphinx and sang 'Happy Birthday' in German.

"Yes, Granger, I am capable of positive words."

She pat his shoulder, then turned around and kept walking. "You should use them more often. You'll find that people will enjoy being around you."

Draco followed her. "This is turning into a very sarcastic conversation. And it was going so well…"

Hermione hitched her backpack farther up her shoulder. "Okay then. New topic… how are things between you and Ginny?" She frowned the slightest bit as she said it, then looked confused, then shook her head and smiled up at him again.

"It… well, not so well," Draco pretended to look upset. "You know…"

"Really?" Hermione gave him a genuine concerned look. "Yeah, well, to be honest, no one thought it was that serious anyway."

Draco looked at her- this could be fun. "Really? Why?"

"Well… you know… you aren't exactly alike at all. You pretty much hated each other, didn't you?"

"I never really talked to her before, but we never liked each other."

"Precisely."

"But haven't you heard 'There's a fine line between love and hate'?" Draco looked at her. She looked at the ground.

"Of course I've heard it, but is it really true? It's awfully hard to go directly from hating someone to loving them."

Draco shrugged. "Anything's possible."

"That is one of the last things I thought I would ever hear you say."

"Fine then: The world is a dark place, everything sucks, and there is no way I could ever love someone that I previously hated." He smirked.

Hermione grinned, "I'm just trying to say that it's very unrealistic. It's like… you falling in love with me."

Draco forced himself to laugh. "Yeah… that's… no."

Hermione decided to go further. "But you said anything's possible."

"But you… and me… that's…"

Hermione shrugged. "Unrealistic. Like you and Ginny."

"Yeah…"

"So… awkward…"

"It is…"

They walked in silence for a couple minutes, then found themselves in front of the cave.

"Well… that was probably the most polite conversation I have ever had with you," Draco said.

"Same here," Hermione said. "Er… thanks?"

"Sure." Draco looked up. "Why don't we just go back up there before this gets even more awkward?"

"I'd like that," Hermione said with a slight laugh, and they both climbed up.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Aw… I'm gagging… Okay, I just spend a minute and a half staring at the screen, trying to think of what to say next.

Here's the thing: I have a new multi-chap idea- two, actually- but don't fret, I shall not be posting them until I have much of this story and my others safely out of the way and finished. I am going to stick with this one and Captive Memories, and finish them, but I am 99.9% sure I'm going to discontinue and delete 'Dark Steps'. I have no inspiration and I'm bored with it. Sorry! I had good plans, too, but I just can't finish it. :( So that means I'm officially picking 'Draco and Hermione Watch AVPM' back up again! Yay! You can all rejoice. Unless you don't want to…

Next chapter will be more fun. If you review. If you don't, I will write a chapter in which everyone sits around in silence and eats walnuts. Do you want that? No. Neither does Blaise, because he hates walnuts. (Did I just make that up right now? Yes.)

So yeah… REVIEW!

~Potato


	13. Not Walnuts

A/N- I'm SOOOOOOOORRY! I know, I know, it's been forever. And this chapter really sucks too. I'M SORRY! It's long though, so there! Ha!

It's going to be slow updates like this because I'm working on an original piece now- KAILYN (haha) IF YOU'RE READING THIS YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE LEAVE NOW AND GET BACK ON TOPIC BECAUSE WE HAVE A PLOT TO CREATE.

I'm sorry guys, it's going to make sense to one person. She knows who she is. So as I said, updates will be late. **OOO!** Do me a favor and visit www. obsidian dragon . blogspot . com. It's my friend's blog and she'd appreciate it SO much if you would just hit the follow/subscribe button or comment. She's an amazing artist and writes the most RANDOMLY hilarious stuff. Everything posted on there is made up and written by her.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter 13- Not Walnuts

It was to Hermione and Draco's utter dismay that they found everyone else awake when they reached the mouth of the cave.

"Where have you been?" Blaise asked, wiggling his eyebrows slightly.

Hermione blushed. "We were eating."

"Together?" Blaise asked.

"She makes for okay company," Draco said, grabbing a slightly less grimy shirt to put on. Ginny approached him, seeing that this was a good opportunity to cause some tension.

"What? And I don't? Amazing, you don't even wait for your own girlfriend to wake up." She rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Draco played along. "I didn't want to interrupt your beauty sleep," then he looked at the ground and mumbled quietly. "…not that it's helping much…"

"Excuse me?" Ginny glared at him. Admittedly, she didn't look her best- island life did nothing good for your hair and skin- but it gave Draco no reason to insult her. "I would keep my mouth shut right now if I were you."

The others had all stopped and were watching their argument by now. Draco bit his lower lip. "Fine."

Hermione looked at Ginny, who had an odd expression on her face, like she was fighting back a smile. Ignoring it as a trick of the light, Hermione kept packing her 'sleeping bag'.

A moment later, after the whole place was cleaned. Ron looked around. "D'you reckon we should head down to the Clearing then?"

"I guess so," Harry said. "We can pick up some fruit on the way there."

The others followed out, leaping down to the ground, until it was only Blaise, Ginny, and Draco. Blaise looked at them. "Are you coming?"

Ginny shook her head. "You go ahead, we need to work an argument out. Tell the others we were fighting."

Blaise shrugged. "Sure thing." He jumped down as well.

Draco looked at her. "What do you want to break up over?"

"I don't know… something stupid, I guess. Better for the show ratings. Why don't you call me something on camera?"

"Me? Why not you?"

Ginny shrugged. "Because I'm dumping you."

Draco laughed. "Ha. Fat chance."

"There is no way I'm looking the fool on camera."

"And there is no way you're breaking up with me. Unlike you, I have a reputation."

"And unlike you, mine is actually clean."

Draco glared. "That was below the belt, Weasley."

Ginny sighed. "Why don't we go down, and you call me a name, and we'll end up arguing anyway."

"Fine."

They hopped down and began to walk.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Luna whistled quietly as she ate her plum. "When do you think –"

Suddenly, the bushes rustled, and out stepped Cindy, Jim, Nate, and Carl. "Good morning!"

Blaise yawned. "Not really."

Cindy counted heads as Carl turned the cameras on. "Where's Ginny and Draco?"

"They were fighting this morning, so they stayed behind to do who-knows-what. Apparently they haven't been getting on so well lately," Hermione said. She shrugged. "I don't think either of them can stand it any longer."

Jeff frowned. "It's only been a few days…"

Cindy, on the other hand, looked giddy. "Great! This is wonderful- Nate, polish that lens."

No later than a few seconds after she said this did the ten people waiting hear muffled shouting from behind them.

"And there they are," Ron said.

"Oh- oh- you did _not_ just go there!" Ginny emerged first, holding a hand to Draco's face and avoiding looking at him. He came behind her.

"It's nothing compared to your low blow."

"Stop being a sissy."

"Oh, so we're really going to resort to that?"

"Shut up."

"I'll shut up when you shut up."

Carl had the camera practically shoved it their faces, forgetting all about zoom.

"And I'll shut up once you realize that you're not the most perfect godly being in this planet."

"Please, look who's talking."

"My ego looks like an ant compared to yours."

"I don't know why you're complaining- you seem to like dating self-absorbed guys. First Potter…"

Ginny shot him a genuine glare. "Well, I'm not so interested in them anymore."

Draco pretended to look a bit shocked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know."

"I think you're too scared to say it."

"Fine then!" Ginny stepped forward and gave him the tiniest grin before slapping him clear across the face. "We're over."

And there was a little applause as Ginny spun on her heel and sat down with her friends, leaving Draco honestly surprised at her violence. Then there was silence.

Then Luna piped up. "Pwnd." Blaise sniggered loudly. Draco glared as he took his seat next to his best mate.

Cindy clapped her hands together in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Well! Wasn't that… something…"

Ginny pretended to sob into Ron's shoulder.

"Yeah…" Cindy continued. "Well, today we'll be doing some side interviews to stick in between your challenges. It'll be sort of like narrating them. We didn't do this for all the challenges, nor will we be doing it for all of them, but we're doing it for this one."

Everyone stared at her expectantly. She sighed. "Just… sit here and wait while Jim and I pull each of you separately."

"What do the rest of us do?" Ron asked.

"Just sit… and try not to kill each other… for the sake of my sanity," Cindy sighed. "First up is- _oh God_- Draco. And Ron, Jeff's waiting for you that way." She pointed to her left.

Once they were gone, Blaise and Pansy rushed to Ginny's side, where she was sitting, sniffling, next to Harry, Hermione, and Luna. "What happened?" Pansy asked in a genuine tone.

"He was being Draco," Ginny said with a frown.

Hermione laughed. "That would be enough for me to break up with him."

Blaise had to scoff at this. "Mmhm…"

"What was that?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, nothing…"

Harry turned to Ginny and looked at her seriously. "He didn't hurt you, did he."

Ginny shook her head without making eye contact with him. "Of course not. Not even _he_ had the nerve to do that."

Hermione bit her lower lip. "What do you mean by that, Ginny?"

"I-" she looked at Harry out of the corner of her eye. His head was hung. "Nothing."

Harry still didn't look up. You could tell he was obviously sorry about something. He shot Ginny a thankful look, but she ignored him.

Pansy ran her shoe through the dirt. "So Draco's free now…"

Blaise gave her a warning look, but she scoffed. "I'm kind of over him."

"Oh… really…?"

"Really. I've moved on."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Sure… anyway- Ginny, are you sure you're okay?" He gave Ginny a pretend concerned look.

She smiled at him sweetly. "Yeah… I kind of knew things weren't going so well anyway…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Cindy sighed. "Alright Draco, stand there." She pointed at some palm trees. "Now look happy."

Draco smiled awkwardly.

"That'll do. Now tell me… what did you think about the water challenge we had? Remember, you need to address the challenge in your answer, because the viewers aren't going to hear my questions."

"Er… well, it was difficult. But I think I did well with the tug-of-war." Draco pulled on his shirt collar.

"Good, good. And what about Hermione and your fake rescue?"

"Well," Draco looked more interested now. "It was not my fault that Hermione looked like she was drowning. And I was just… ensuring that no one was going to die when I could have saved them. Imagine if Hermione really was drowning! It would have been my fault…. And that's not just some excuse!" He added this as an afterthought.

Cindy grinned. "Sure it wasn't. Okay… what about sleeping conditions?"

"I personally hate it. I'm sleeping with a bunch of people I've always detested." He stopped talking as Nate sniggered so hard the camera shook. "Okay- that came out wrong!"

Cindy smiled. "Go on."

"Well, I don't like spending time with the Golden trio of bestest friends as is. But add sleeping in the same cave as them, and it's just not fun."

"But has it helped you tolerate them?"

"Well, yes, I suppose so. Potter seems less holy and more pathetic now, with the whole Ginny thing. Weasley is… well, Weasley is Weasley. Ginny's okay. Luna is rather funny, now that I talk to her. Hermione's… well… Hermione's pretty much the same, minus the bossiness. I never really took much time to talk to her before," he shrugged. "So yeah, I suppose you could say my viewpoint on them has changed."

"So much so that you even ventured a relationship with Ginny. Could you tell us about that?"

"Um… well, me and Ginny were never really serious. That's why it lasted so short."

"And the breakup? Tell us about that."

Draco looked even more uncomfortable. "We just decided it wasn't working. That's all."

"Are you sure? Do you think Ginny was interesting in anyone else?"

"No. I doubt it."

"And you?"

"Interested in anyone else?" Draco's mind shot to Hermione, then he immediately wondered why. "No."

Cindy looked slightly skeptical. "Hm."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hello, Ron," Jeff shook Ron's hand. "Come stand here." He pointed to a few palm trees. "And look happy."

Ron did as he was told.

"Now tell me, Ron, tell me about the water challenge."

"The challenge? It was interesting, I suppose. Very… wet?"

"Uh-huh… and tell me about your win. You beat Draco."

"Of course I beat Draco, you really think I'd lose to him? Psh. Right. You saw him, he thought Hermione was drowning. And-"

_Ring! Ring! Ring! _

Jeff fumbled with his shirt pocket. "That's my cell." He walked a few steps away so he was out of earshot. "Hello? Tom?"

Tom was furious on the other line. His voice was cold. "Did you get my texts, Jeff?"

"Yes."

"Well, you _didn't _text me back."

"I'm sorry if I have a game show to run."

"And I'm sorry that I'm trying to help you here, _so shut up_!"

Jeff promptly did that, as he momentarily forgot whom he was talking to. "Go on."

"I will," Tom said silkily. "Has he dumped her yet?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Damn. Oh, well, it was all an act anyway. I was just calling to tell you that, if you need it, I have the money. I know you're doing those interview things today."

"Why would that lead to the need of money?"

"I don't know. Just saying." There was a pause. "Have they suspected me yet?"

"No, not yet. I think you're the last person they'd guess, honestly."

"It'll be soon, I think."

"So… about the next challenge…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"What do you think about Hermione?" Cindy asked.

Draco looked bored. "Why is everyone interesting in me and Hermione?"

"Because you two like each other."

Again, Draco was bored. "Why does everyone think that?"

"Because it's fairly obvious."

"I don't like her."

"And I have luckily been born with the virtue of patience. I'll wait."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine. But you'll be waiting for a long time."

Cindy frowned at his lack of enthusiasm. "I'm bored with you."

Draco shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Fine then. We're done, you go tell someone else to come."

Draco seemed indifferent. "Okay."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ron waited for a long time. A very long time. He watched as Jeff talked forever to whoever was on the phone. He listened to part of the conversation, something about figuring someone out. But not really caring, Ron decided to zone out. He was about to leave out of boredom when Jeff came back.

"Sorry about that, I really had to take that call," Jeff smiled and clicked his cell shut. "So, back to your interview."

Ron wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Well, do you really think they'll notice if you just don't interview me? It's not like I'm particularly interesting in this game show anyway. Here: I like Pansy. I'm asking her out soon. I used to like Hermione, I dated her, but that's over now. I don't like Malfoy or Blaise, because I think he's interested in my sister. Harry's kind of being an idiot. I don't like the challenges, they tire me. I'm sick of eating fruit and bugs. I miss my mattress."

Carl gave Jeff an apprehensive look. Jeff shrugged. "Good enough for me."

And with that, Ron left.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Cindy looked down at her list, checking off Harry and Blaise, both of which had a very uneventful interview. Last up for her was Pansy, the pursed-lipped girl standing before her.

"Alright, Pansy," Cindy said. "Let's go through the drill." Cindy went through the questions, and Pansy answered almost robotically, her mind on something else that took place five minutes before she got called for her interview.

_Pansy jiggled her foot, waiting impatiently for her interview turn. Hermione was busy talking to Draco, who had come back from his interview, and Luna was humming. A moment later, the humming stopped and Luna tapped Pansy on her shoulder. _

"_What?"_

"_I just remembered," Luna said. "Before you go off for your interview and all, I just wanted to remind you about something." _

"_What?" _

"_Just one thing: a dare." _

Cindy finished her last question. "Alright, Pansy, that's all."

Pansy bit her lower lip apprehensively. "Wait."

"Yeah?"

Pansy gulped. "Make the cameras face me," Nate turned the camera around. "I just wanted to say one last thing, and I really need this to make it on air." She screwed up her face and took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._ "Ever since school I've had a big crush on a boy named Neville Longbottom."

She squealed in disgust and ran. Cindy looked at Nate. Nate looked at Cindy. They both shrugged. "Well, she said to put it on air…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Jeff watched Luna's retreated back, her hair flipping wildly as she skipped, and then frowned as Hermione sulked in.

"Why so sad?"

She frowned at him and said scathingly. "I've been warned."

Jeff backed away slightly. "Um… why?"

Hermione threw her hands up. "I've been warned by Draco that every other question in this interview will be involving Draco and I and I just want to tell you that I'm dead sick of all this pestering. If I like Draco, I will like Draco, and if he likes me, he will like me and you all can quit prodding around because I'm tired of it- TIRED!"

"Um…" Jeff said, but he was cut off.

"And it's not just you! It's everyone else on this damn island, they will not drop it, you're all like dogs with treats, you won't drop it. I know I work with him, and I know you're all convinced we flirt at work all day, and you think that we can't just be friends- why can't we be friends- _because you're Hermione and Draco_, that's why! I can't spend one minute just talking to him because that'll make it on the show and viewers will go nuts and you and Cindy have some sick capability of twisting anything I say to make it sound like I like him!" Hermione took a deep breath, she was panting. "So if we're going to have an interview, just keep Draco Malfoy _out_ of it, because whatever is going on between us is BETWEEN US!"

Carl whistled. Jeff cowered. "Well, we don't exactly have to have an interview if you don't like."

Hermione took a breath in and out. "I'd like that. It was nice talking to you Jeff." And she twirled on her foot and left.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Okay. That's that. FINE! The chapter SUCKED! I'm sorry.

You might want to read this: (Unless you already saw it on one of my other fics.)

Okay, here's the news: I'm starting a little fic contest! Winner will get a dedicated one-shot by me! Yay! And the author will get a mention in my stor(ies). Here are the requirements:

Ship- Must have some Dramione (duh). Other ships are allowed, no slash please.

Rating- T and below. No smut, no lemons, no limes, no M content whatsoever. Please. Language is okay, but don't go overboard.

Length- Can be any length. One-shot or multi-chapter, I don't care.

Must include **at least three** of the following- ~The phrase "Skipping in a manly way."~ ~Hot chocolate~ ~An argument of some sort~ ~Shocking news~ ~Postal services~ ~the Internet~ ~An obsession with something completely ordinary~ ~A film~ ~Running out of napkins~ ~Shoes~

Other- Can be a songfic. I enjoy stories with other characters included besides the pairing. Hint hint. Keep in mind that a good story (usually oneshots in this case) does not _need_ a make-out session at the end. You may enter a story you've already started as long as you include some of the things listed above in later chapters.

Deadline- All entries must be sent in **completed (if a one-shot)** or **at least with five chapters (if a multi-chapter)** by November 1st. PM me the link. :)

Thank you all! I really hope you enter this, I want some good reads!

~Potato


	14. Silver Platters

A/N- I knooooooow, I'm soooooory, it's been so looooong. Not really, I think it's been 3 weeks? Not that bad. I have 12 more days off of school, but there's a family wedding coming up so the whole bridal shower and rehearsal dinner and all that other stuff takes up my time. Plus I have a huge history project. Thanks, 8th grade history.

So blame it on them! I'll try to update sooner! (Important AN at the bottom.)

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter 14- Silver Platters

Neville Longbottom was on his computer, e-mailing his best man about his wedding plans, when a very flustered Hannah came in, holding the phone. "Neville, dear, there's someone on the phone who wants to talk to you…"

Neville frowned at her expression. "Who is…"

"Just take it."

Neville obliged, and she left. He was extremely surprised at the voice at the other end.

"Hello Mr Longbottom…"

Neville gaped and nearly dropped the phone. "T-Tom…"

"No need for the shock, I just need to request something."

"Um… yes?"

"I'm sure you've heard of the new show on the television? Survive That?"

"I have."

There was a pause. "I'm the mastermind behind it."

Neville took a moment to process this. Voldemort was behind a desert island reality TV show. Huh. "Well… that is certainly… interesting."

"Hm. Isn't it. Well, Mr Longbottom, if you could check your inbox right about now, you should find an email from me."

Neville clicked on his inbox. "Er… are you Riddle_Iz_Da_Bomb?"

Tom coughed on the other end. "Embarassingly, yes. Potter said the only way I could have an email is if he made it for me."

"Uh-huh."

"Well, anyway, there is a video attachment. Watch it now."

Neville did as he was told. A small 20-second clip played, obviously taken from an unaired episode. It was Pansy, looking nervous:

"I just wanted to say one last thing, and I really need this to make it on air… Ever since school I've had a big crush on a boy named Neville Longbottom."

_Pansy liked me? Pansy Pug-faced Parkinson liked me? Or… she still does like me? What is the world coming to? What does this mean? Wha… who…huh…_

"Mr Longbottom? I take it you've finished?"

Neville answered with a small squeak.

"So, because of this, the other producers of the show would appreciate it if you'd make a guest appearance. And I suggest you do. Because we _all_ wouldn't be happy if you refused."

Neville squeaked again.

"I'll take that as a yes, purely because I'm not taking no for an answer. Thank you Mr Longbottom. You will be receiving an owl soon and a possible phone call from a Cindy Merridew." _Click._

Neville spluttered. "Bu… but… wha…" He looked to the phone and tried calling back. A woman's voice answered.

Hello, you have reached the voicemail of _Lord- er, I mean, Tom Riddle. How do I stop recordi- oh, here._ We are sorry, but _Lord- er, I mean, Tom Riddle. How do I stop recordi- oh, here _is not available at the moment. Please try again or leave a message after the beep. _BEEP!_

"Neville?" Hannah entered the room again. "Is everything okay?"

"I… well, dear, it looks like our honeymoon's going to be on a desert island."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"_Snitch, parchment, wand!_ Ha! Wand beats parchment, Harry," Ron grinned triumphantly.

"But…" Harry frowned. "I thought parchment beats Snitch…"

"It does," Ron said patiently.

Harry sighed. "Muggle's rock, paper, scissors is so much simpler…"

Blaise continued banging his head against a tree a couple yards away. Luna was weaving potholders. Draco was lying face-down in the sand and Hermione was nervously fingering with the hem of her long skirt while murmuring things to herself. Ginny was keeping track of Harry and Ron's Snitch, parchment, wand game. No one knew where Pansy was. Needless to say, they were bored.

Draco lifted his head up. "Blaise, what time is it?"

Blaise stopped his head-banging and looked at his watch. "Two more minutes."

"M'kay," Draco flopped his head back into the sand. Every seven minutes, he would flip onto his back, then back onto his stomach, and so on. He was getting a very nice tan.

Luna looked up. "Does anyone need a potholder?"

"I do!" called Blaise. He took it, and pressed it against the tree. "It offers cushion for my forehead every time I bang against the trunk."

"You're killing brain cells," Ginny said.

"Don't care."

There was a long moment of silence, with only the scratching of bark as Ginny tallied up points for Harry and Ron and the slight murmurs from Hermione.

"I have another potholder!" Luna called.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Murmur. Murmur.

Seven minutes- flop.

Scratch. "Another point for Ron."

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Murmur.

Scratch. "Two for Ron."

Bang. Murmur. Bang. Murmur.

"OMIGOD I AM GOING TO DIE HERE."

Everyone immediately stopped and turned their heads. The sudden explosion came from someone very unexpected.

"I'm sorry, but there is absolutely nothing to do," Luna said. "I've made enough potholders to last me three lifetimes and I'm done listening to you guys mope."

"Cook me something then," Draco requested.

"I'm not your slave."

"You asked for something to do, I answered. Oh, and while you're at it, see if you can find Pansy."

Luna sighed and left.

"My forehead hurts," whined Blaise.

"_Or perhaps in Slytherin, those cunning folks use any means to achieve their ends_," Ginny sang. "You are _so_ cunning Blaise. You see, banging your head against a tree repeatedly _will_ make it hurt."

"That's not what cunning means, it's-" And the two divulged into a fight over the meaning of the word cunning.

With their scorekeeper gone, Harry and Ron abandoned their game.

"What's Hermione doing?" Ron asked, looking at the muttering girl in the corner.

Harry shrugged. "She's looks a bit off her rocker…"

They both looked at each other and said at the same time: "You're talking to her!"

"I'm not dealing with an emotional woman. Not now." Ron said.

"But-"

"No buts, Harry. You're better with girls."

"Since when?"

"Since now, when I don't feel like talking to Hermione."

"Fine." Harry got up and walked over to Hermione, carefully stepping over Draco, who hadn't spoken since Luna left.

"Hey, Hermione- are you alright?"

Hermione didn't look up. "No."

"What happened?"

"I'm dead."

Harry poked her. "No, you're quite alive."

"Well, I will be."

"Why?"

"I made a fool of myself in the interview," she sighed. "I yelled at Jeff. I went insane. And I just about admitted that I like Draco Malfoy."

"Do you?"

Hermione looked up. "I… no… yes… maybe…"

"Thanks for the straight answer."

Hermione lowered her voice to a whisper. "I'm in denial Harry. That is a very bad thing."

"Um… "

"Haven't you read a SINGLE romance novel? Merlin, they're the worst kind, but these are exactly the type of signs I'm supposed to be AVOIDING- I never should've spoken to him. Never should've taken the job at his company. Never should have met him- I never should have gone to HOGWARTS, Harry- it's all DUMBLEDORE'S FAULT!"

Harry nodded very slowly. So this is what Ron meant. "Well… I think we're being a bit irrational here…"

"Are we Harry? Are we really? I mean look at him, dammit!" Hermione pointed at the pathetic Draco flopped on the sand. "Ooohhh…"

Harry patted her back. "I don't exactly know what's going on right now…"

Hermione looked straight into his grass-green eyes. "Let me spell this out for you clearly: I think I'm falling in love with Draco."

"Oh- yes, that's an issue."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Luna stepped over the large vines drooping from the large trees above her, looking for something edible. Anything edible really. This island diet was not doing well for anyone. Then she heard voices.

"Yes, I'm about to go get them. For the next challenge." It was Jeff.

"You called that Longbottom, correct?" And there was Cindy. But why were they calling Neville?

"I had someone else do it."

"Who?"

"Oh, just one of the other producers... you know, the one who got us the contestants."

Luna listened closer.

"Oh, him…"

"Yeah… well, I'm going to go get them now. The next challenge, you know."

"Of course."

Luna scampered away, not wanting to be caught. Why did they call Neville? The only time they mentioned him on air was… She grinned. Pansy's dare. They were bringing him here because of Pansy's interview. But wasn't he engaged? And didn't she like Ron now? _Oh, this is going to be fun…_ she thought as she entered the clearing with her friends again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Draco was about to make his 27th cycle when a woman entered the clearing, another woman in tow.

"Oh, there's Pansy," Ron said.

"Yeah," Pansy said, brushing leaves out of her hair. "Cindy found me on her way here." She sent a pointed glare at Ron, expressing her opinion that he should have been the one to go find her. He got up and slung an arm around her shoulders and whispered, "We _did_ send Luna to get you."

Harry looked at Cindy hopefully. "Are you here to rescue us? Give us something to do?"

"Why yes, I am. Although I can't promise you'll be too happy about it."

Hermione looked up. "Don't tell me it's a challenge? I'm perfectly happy staying here rather than doing that again."

"Oh, Hermione, now it wouldn't be a game show without pain, would it? Besides, I'm 90 percent sure that you have the second most viewer points by now. The people love you."

"They love me for the pain I endure so they can laugh."

Draco had finally gotten off of his back and was sitting upright. "Does it concern food? I'm starving and Luna didn't get anything."

Luna smiled serenely. "I thought I saw Nargles."

Cindy gave her an odd look. "Well, it does concern food, but-"

"Thank Merl- God," Draco said, correcting himself.

"Alright then, if you all could follow me," Cindy said. They trekked across the island to the Clearing, where Jeff and the cameramen were waiting. Before them was a makeshift table- in other words, a slab of wood covered with a black cloth propped up by a couple logs. On the cloth were eight silver platters, covered by eight silver domes.

Pansy gulped. "I don't want to know what's waiting underneath those."

"Don't tell me this is going to be a rerun of Fear Factor," Hermione whispered.

"I'm hungry," Draco stated again.

"Hungry enough to eat this? I don't know about that…" Cindy said with a devious grin.

Jim smiled as well. "Alright… we're taping in three… two… one…"

Cindy got in front of one of the cameras. "We're here again in the main Clearing with our eight contestants, all of which have not eaten a true meal in nearly twenty-four hours. Needless to say, they were bored, hungry, and in need of a little fun. Now that's precisely what we're going to provide. Jeff?"

The camera swung to Jeff, who was standing behind the platter-clad table. "Beneath each of these domes, on each of these hidden plates, is a meal that no sane person would probably ever want to eat. But it's the only thing available to our contestants now, and there is a hefty point reward to whoever eats the most. So if we could have our first four?"

Ron, who was pale-faced, gulped. "Er- ladies first?"

Pansy groaned as Cindy pushed her forward. "Go on up there, ladies."

Each woman took a seat before one of the eight meals. Luna was humming to herself, Hermione was giving her plate an apprehensive look, Ginny couldn't help but look a bit scared, and Pansy appeared to be on the brink of a heart attack.

Jeff swooped above Luna. "Our first plate." He lifted the lid to reveal a plate with about half a dozen squirming worms.

Luna cocked her head to one side and surveyed her plate. "Well… I do feel bad about eating the poor things, but you do what you've got to do, right?"

Everyone looked at her like she was insane. But that wasn't anything new.

Jeff went to Hermione next. Beneath her lid- a plate of cooked cockroaches.

Hermione closed her eyes for a long moment. "…Ew."

Next came Ginny, and with a gigantic swoop, the most disgusting thing she had ever seen in her life was revealed. It looked as if someone had puked on her plate.

"Um… what is it?"

Jeff grinned. "Lamb intestine stuffed with a mix of vegetables and beetles." A slight gagging could be heard in the background.

"Sounds like haggis," Ginny mused. "Besides the beetles, of course."

"At least you get something halfway normal," Hermione muttered.

"And lastly," Jeff said. "Miss Parkinson." Pansy's face was completely white now, and she was shaking.

The last lid was opened to show off a plate decorated with cooked grubs. "Ooooh…" She gagged. "No way in _hell_ I'm eating that."

"Oh, but you have to," Jeff said evilly. "You see, there's a catch."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N- Muah hahaha! Aren't I evil? No, I'm not really.

So here's my updates: I have a brand new **blog **and a **FictionPress account**! Yay! The links are on my profile page. The blog has random posts by me as well as some explaining certain things in my fics. Thanks to **Erin**, who has already gone on there and commented. :D

Thank you all! You may review…. … … NOW!


	15. Long Overdue

Chapter Fifteen- Long Overdue

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N- Oh, how I've missed you all.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"A catch? Honestly?" Draco said exasperatedly. "Can't they just eat the bugs and be done with it?"

Jim smirked. "Can't you just accept the fact that you signed up for this show?"

"Touche."

"As I was saying, there is a catch. Each of you ladies will have a man for a partner. Anything you girls don't manage to eat, your partner will have to. But when they eat it, it will be covered in the spiciest hot sauce we could get our hands on." Cindy walked forward and presented a glass bottle of some sort of red liquid, and Hermione swore she could see it steaming. "So girls… eat up!"

Cindy set the jar on the table before the contestants and faced the men. "Okay. The partners will be as follows- Draco with Pansy, Harry with Ginny, Blaise with Luna, and Ron with Hermione."

Draco looked stricken. "Pansy? You can't pair me with Pansy!"

"Excuse me?" Pansy said, indignant. "I'll do fine. It's only… grubs…. Okay, he's right, you're pretty cruel to pair him with me. Hope you like spicy worms Draco." She smiled sweetly at him as he slid onto the bench beside her begrudgingly. The others did the same, giving various revolted looks at their partner's food, to her face, to the bottle of hot sauce.

"You may begin at the start of three," Cindy said into her bullhorn. "And you have eleven minutes before your food is switched to your partner. Alright- one… two… THREE!"

Four different approaches were taken by all four girls. Pansy, of course, lifted her fork and daintily poked one of the grubs, then immediately retraced the utensil when the worm squirted out juices. "Okay, ew."

Hermione pried apart her first roach, examining each body part carefully and analyzing which way to begin before carefully inserting a head into her mouth. Her eyes squinted into slits as she swallowed. "It needs salt. Or sugar. Or anything else at all to drown out the taste of guts."

Ginny began to eat the stuffed lamb like a child would brussel sprouts, slowly and reluctantly, taking a moment here and there to spit a piece of her food out onto the side of her plate. "Stop doing that!" Harry said. "I don't want to eat something you've already chewed!"

And Luna, of course, dug right in, slurping in the worms one by one and chewed with vigor. Blaise looked at her with an expression of relief as the worms quickly disappeared from her plate. Draco glared at him. "You lucky bastard, you won't have to eat anything!"

Blaise grinned. "Tough luck, Draco. Karma's a bitch."

"Never heard of it," Draco said as he turned back to Pansy, nudging her shoulder by 'accident' so the grub she had lifted up to her nose was forced into her mouth. She gagged, but swallowed, and Draco beamed proudly. "Good, Pans, now a couple dozen more to go."

"At least I don't have to play dirty tricks to get mine to eat her food," Ron said loudly from the other end of the table as Hermione began to chew at a faster pace. She stopped, however, at his words.

"'Get mine to eat'?" She put a hand on her hip. "I'm not 'yours', Ron. I was being the bigger person and eating my food so you wouldn't have to. But if you're going to be disrespectful-"

"I'm sorry!" he quickly amended. "Just keep eating, we're going to run out of time."

She formed a little "o" with her mouth and calmly put down her fork. "No."

"Hermione!"

"Ron!" she mimicked. "I was more than happy to help, but that was before you decided to be rude about it."

"Hermione, come on, you know I didn't mean it!"

"Nope," she said with a little grin. "I'm more than happy to lay down any points I would have gained with this competition to see you eat the remaining… six roaches covered in hot sauce."

Draco smirked. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," he said under his breath. "Now come on, Pansy, let's not let Weasley let his pride get the best of him. Eat those grubs!"

"I'm working on it, I'm working on it…"

Ginny was ¾ of the way done with her stuffed lamb intestine, but slowing down with every second. "Come on," Harry encouraged. "You've got this, remember how quickly you scarfed down that cake on our first anniversa-" he shut up mid-sentence and Ginny swallowed a carrot slice whole, nearly choking.

Most at the table noticed Harry's slip-up, and stared ever-so-tactfully. Harry and Ginny's first anniversary as a couple had been a monumental event, in which it was later revealed to the pair's closest friends that Harry had told Ginny he truly loved her. It was also a widely publicized date, and one of the events that popped up in most articles covering the night was Ginny's record time eating a small chocolate cake Harry had bought her.

The awkward silence was broken, however, with a final slurp from Luna, and an outcry from Blaise: "She's done!"

Everyone's gaze turned from Harry to Luna, who was sitting happily before her clean plate. "That wasn't so bad. Tastes much better than freshwater plimpy soup; I'm still confused as to why dad always made me make that disgusting dish for him…"

"And that's all the time we have!" Cindy yelled into her bullhorn. "Eleven minutes have passed, and now it is time to see what the women have left for their male companions to finish off!"

Jim walked to the first plate. "One, two, three, four, five, six cockroaches left for Mr Ron Weasley to finish." Cindy came over and poured a nice thick layer of hot sauce onto the insects.

"About half a plate of grubs left for Mr Malfoy… although I must say I'm impressed by how many Miss Parkinson _did_ manage to finish.

"There's a small amount of lamb left for Mr Potter, but Miss Weasley did a wonderful job. Mr Zabini is lucky, Luna didn't leave her a single thing left."

"Which means," Jim continued, "That Luna will gain extra bonus points for a clean plate, while the other girls will gain points for what they did eat and lose some for what they didn't. The total results will be posted later. Now boys… are you ready to eat?"

The blonde, raven, and redheaded men all nodded half-heartedly. The bullhorn rang, and the second feast of the insects began.

-.-.-.-.

Fifteen minutes later, all eight companions were heading back to the cave, over half of them looking close to vomiting. However, Luna and Blaise were separated from the group, each with a smile on their face and an animated conversation on their lips.

Hermione grinned as she looked at them. "He loves her, you know."

Draco glanced back at the pair. "How can you tell?"

"It's in the eyes. If you ever want to tell if a person loves another, you never have to listen to the words they say, it's all in the way they act. Especially the eyes. Look at the way he doesn't take his eyes off of her, the way he listens to every word she says, the way his hand lingers on her arm when he's trying to get her attention."

"It's true," Ginny said. Those were the first words she'd spoken since Harry's awkward slip-up at the challenge.

"I don't think so, I mean, I can love a girl without looking at her a certain way." Draco said.

"Draco, your semi-weekly prostitutes were not love," Pansy corrected. "And you're probably just not aware that you do it."

"Or he just doesn't want to admit that his best friend loves Luna," Ron suggested.

Draco sniffed. "I resent that. I'm perfectly fine with him liking Lovegood… as long as their wedding doesn't have flowers that sneeze for the bouquets and nargles aren't the ushers. Plus, he probably doesn't love her anyway. I think he's just… enjoying the beauty of a woman's face. It doesn't mean he loves her."

"Sure, Draco, because _you _would really know," Hermione said. She gave him a little grin and moved to walk ahead.

But Ginny didn't miss that he gave Hermione his own quirky loving smile to her back after she walked away.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Oh. My. Fucking…. No. No way. This did not happen." Pansy stood, shaking, in the mouth of the cave.

"Grab her before she has a meltdown," Draco whispered to Blaise.

"Oh, Pansy, don't worry. I have all kinds of practice in making clothes out of leaves, you'll be fine," Luna said.

"They took…. they took our clothes."

When the others climbed up to the entrance of the cave, they too had similar (although less drastic) reactions as Pansy. All their bags and belongings had been ransacked, and everything was strewn about. The only thing missing, however? Their clothes.

"You mean the only outfit I have left is the one I'm wearing?" Pansy shrieked.

"I can make a very figure-hugging dress out of banana tree leaves," Luna reassured.

"And I'm wearing this skirt over jeans, you can borrow one," Hermione offered.

But Pansy wasn't listening to either of them. "They took my comfort… my cosmetics… my wand, my hair straightener, my everything…. but my _clothes_? They are driving me to the upmost point of insanity here!"

"Well, it's not like you were wearing much anyway…. and I'm talking underwear in case you didn't catch my drift," Ron said with a wink.

Pansy flushed. "Ron!"

"Hey, when you bent over… it was like whoa! Full exposure. Don't panties like that give you wedgies?"

Pansy groaned and fell to her knees. Ginny knelt to comfort her while glaring at Ron.

"So… I see you found our little surprise."

The eight turned around to see Cindy standing in the cave. "We just thought we'd add in a little challenge… making clothes!"

At this point, Pansy looked close to tears. Nat came up behind Cindy and began filming.

"But you know," Cindy continued. "We couldn't just stop there. We have one more surprise for you."

Nat leaned over and motioned for someone below the mouth of the cave. And trudging awkwardly from below came a familiar round, freckled face.

"So… I heard one of you was still in love with me?" Neville Longbottom asked.

At this point, Pansy was lucky that Ron was behind her to catch her when she just about fainted.

-.-.-.-.-.-.

I'm sorry guys, but don't think this is me coming back for regular updates. I'm sorry for any plot holes, I've been away from this story for a long time so I might have forgotten some things. :/ I just missed you guys as well as fanfiction a lot. I've been working a lot on original stuff and I love it, but you guys have supported me SO much and I wanted to update. My birthday was last month too, so consider this a little late birthday present. :)

Oh, and a shoutout to my 500th reviewer- Amortentiaa! That was long overdue, and I'm SO grateful for the support and love you guys have given me. x) You all are the best.

I hope to see you soon… review if you should feel so inclined. I know I don't deserve the time it takes to review anymore because I can't take the time to update regularly, so I'm not going to demand that you do.

Love you all!

~Potato (I've missed signing my chapters… sigh…)

(PS- check my profile later for possible updates on my original stuff which I might post. I'm working on an original piece inspired by a song by the Script. Lurrve them!)


	16. Mystery Man

So I wasn't planning on updating for awhile but…. you know me :) can't stay away for long! Actually, I was on youtube and stumbled upon (and by stumbled upon I mean being a crazy, bored fangirl and searching up/flipping through Dramione videos) and found a fanvid to "Accidentally in Love" and watching all the clips and everything just made me miss my favorite ship so…. I hate to write! To get my sudden urge flushed out… haha.

Oh and I KEEP CHANGING JEFF'S NAME! Aghhh I called him "Jim" all last chapter (maybe I'm watching too much of the Office lol) but I will fix that this chapter.

So, without further ado….

-.-.

Chapter 16- Mystery Man

Hermione hated her feet. She wished she had petite ones to match her height, but alas, such was not true, and she was stuck wearing duct tape shoes meant for a foot a size and a half smaller… specifically, Ginny's foot. Because when Hermione was too busy to sit for fifteen minutes and let Luna use her own foot for a shoe model, Ginny became a stand-in, no one bothering to check if they wore the same size. And Hermione, being a kind-hearted person, said not a thing when she had to scrunch her toes just to fit into her new shoe replacements.

So when Cindy asked her how the clothes challenge was coming along, she looked straight into the camera with a smile on her face. "Oh, it's working alright. I mean, it's been a challenge, but challenge is good."

"And what do you think about the surprise visitor?"

"I was certainly surprised but… it's going to add drama, and shake things up, so I guess we'll have to see what happens!"

"Great, thanks Hermione. I think we got enough footage from you, so you're free to go."

Hermione nodded, then left without further comment. When she returned to the others in the cave, she found banana leaves and strips of vines strewn wildly about. "What's going on in here?"

"We're still making clothes… look at the dress Ginny is wearing, tell me if you want one," Luna said.

On one side of the cave, a makeshift runway had been constructed, and Blaise was commentating in a well-practiced announcing voice as Ginny strutted down the aisle.

"Next we have the beautiful Miss Ginny Weasley, modeling a toga-reminiscent dress with a high cut designed by the up-and-coming Luna Lovegood…" he allowed Ginny time to strike a few poses. "Notice how it fits snug enough to show off Miss Weasley's gorgeous curves, but isn't too tight that it disallows her to do, ah, other things."

Ginny put a finger up to her lips and made an innocent surprised face while grabbing her own backside. Blaise couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Well, Miss Weasley, I wasn't suggesting quite that; I guess someone's mind is just in dirty places."

Hermione giggled as well. "Sure, Luna, I'll take one. I'd love to do some, ah, other things."

"Great."

"So…. where's Pansy and Draco?"

Harry, who'd been sitting in the corner, spoke up. "Pansy's out getting coconuts for some bra idea of hers, and Draco's getting questioned."

"What about Neville?"

"He's in the host's hut. Lucky bastard."

"Ah. Alright then, I'll join you in dress-making then, Luna."

-.-.

Ginny was slipping out of her dress behind a rock and changing back into her normal clothes when Harry appeared in front of her.

"Ai!" she squealed angrily. "Harry, I'm half-naked!"

Harry gave her a half-grin. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

"Merlin, look away for a moment!"

Harry obliged, and Ginny slipped her shirt back on. "So… what do you need? My extra granola bars are in the pocket of my backpack if that's it."

"No, I'm not hungry… I wanted to talk to you, Gin."

Ginny's eyebrows furrowed and she glared at him. "Don't try it, Harry."

"Whoa… why are you so upset?"

Ginny sighed, sat on a nearby boulder, and put her forehead in her hands. "I don't know… I don't know how to feel towards you anymore. Are we friends? Are we on good terms or bad? I mean, I've been talking to Blaise about it and-"

"Oh, of course. You've been talking to Blaise."

Ginny cocked an eyebrow. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you've been awfully… chummy… with Zabini lately."

"Not like that's any of your concern," she said coldly.

"Well, I mean you are my ex-"

"Exactly!" Ginny interrupted. "Not girlfriend, not wife, not daughter- ex. So it's none of your business who I'm getting 'chummy' with."

"Well, you know, I don't like where we are right now. It's been awkward since the breakup and I just want us on good terms again."

"Harry… the breakup was bad. And we're becoming _friends_ again, do you really need to ruin it?"

Harry sat on a rock next to her. "But you saw what happened at the challenge. When the cake came up… that's not how friends react."

"Harry! That's perfectly normal, we broke up relatively recently, I'm allowed for some things to be awkward when brought up."

"Well…"

"And what about you and Luna, hm? Am I allowed to interrogate you on _that_?"

"Sure- because Luna and I are friends. Good friends."

Ginny threw her hands up. "And so are Blaise and I!"

"Doesn't seem like that."

"And you shouldn't care. Do us both a favor for once, Harry, and mind your own business."

"Ginny…"

She stared at him, and her eyes narrowed, then suddenly widened in realization. "This isn't just about the awkward moments, Blaise, or our friendship is it? This is about something more… this is about u-"

"Hey! Gin!" Blaise shouted from inside the cave. "Luna needs you for some measurements, what're you doing down there?"

She sighed. "Be right there."

"'Gin'?" Harry asked. "Really?"

"Yes, Harry, you're not the only one to ever call me that."

Harry sighed, not wanting to know what she was planning to say before Blaise interrupted. "You better go then."

"I'll… talk to you later."

"Yeah."

She climbed up the rocks, not looking back once. Harry groaned. What was he doing?

He moved to leave when he saw her bag of clothes to change into left behind the rock she was sitting on. With a heavy sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out something he'd been hiding for years, but something he'd never left home without… until now.

The beautiful diamond ring sparkled in the afternoon sun, dangling gently on a piece of white string. He remembered the hours he'd spent in the jewelry shop when he was eighteen, looking for the perfect ring, the one he knew she'd love.

He'd always thought that one day they'd be married, but he never knew when he'd want to ask, so he always kept the ring with him. But obviously that wasn't an option anymore, so why keep the memories in his pocket.

He dropped the ring into the smallest pocket of her bag and left.

-.-.-.-.

Later that night, a large campfire was set up by the cameramen and hosts. Each of the eight contestants was given a log seat around the fire, with three empty seats between them all. All of them were dressed in their leafy jungle garb, and waiting for the others to show up, as per instruction by Cindy earlier in the day.

"What do you think we're here for?" Blaise asked.

"Probably for your stupid dare," Pansy said to Harry bitterly.

He laughed. "It wasn't stupid, it was hilarious."

"So hilarious that they had to ship Neville all the way out here."

"Oh… So he's _Neville_ now?"

Pansy sniffed. "If it weren't for the fact I have to stay here, I'd make a furious dramatic exit right now."

"Yeah, Pans, and Merlin knows you've had enough practice with those," Draco said with a grin.

Pansy struggled to come up with a comeback, but was saved by the two hosts emerging from the bushes. "Hello!" Cindy said, smiling wide. She sat down on one of the empty logs, and tossed her blonde hair back. Jeff sat across from her. "Welcome to the campfire. As you can see, there is one last empty seat here. Anyone want to guess who that's for?"

Pansy sighed. "Neville?"

"_How_ did you know? Neville, come on in!"

The man in question came through the bushes, looking nervous but slightly humored. He sat down in the remaining empty seat, between Pansy and Ron. Nat and Carl sneaked in as well, positioning themselves behind the eleven logs.

"So we're here to discuss your latest challenge as well as a few other things. But first of all- I see you're all in your new clothes. How are those working for you? Pansy?" Jeff asked.

"Itchy," she said. "They're not working well with my shoes either. I don't wear green often."

"Draco?"

"Far from the designer suits he had back home," Hermione answered for him. "Once, I spilled some coffee on one of them when he bumped into me in the hallway at work, and he about Ava- erm, killed me right then and there."

"That suit probably costs- or should I say, _once_ _cost_- more than your entire wardrobe combined."

"Doubt it, seeing as I get paid one-fourth of what you would've lost in every lawsuit against you that I win. Which isn't nearly enough considering the amount of work I put into-"

"Excuse us," Cindy said. Both immediately silenced. "Thank you. As I was saying, the clothes challenge seemed to be a success on your part."

"But, here with us tonight we have a new challenge… or, more of a confession," Jeff said. "Pansy?"

Both cameras turned onto the wide-eyed woman. "I… Um…"

"We have Neville here with us tonight, something I'm sure you didn't expect to happen when you made that confession."

"Definitely not."

Cindy nodded. "What about you, Neville?"

"Well, I am engaged," he said with a shrug. "And I find what Pansy confessed hard to believe, she was always a bully during school."

The attention of everyone around the fire turned back to Pansy for a rebuttal. She looked conflicted for a moment, then something came over the face. She put on a mask of pain and screwed up her facial features. "Well… it's because I don't love him. At least…" she sniffed. "Not anymore."

Blaise muffled a snort, and Draco turned to Hermione next to him with an expression that plainly said "_What the hell is she doing_?"

"You see, I was in love with Neville at a distance. He was always that cute clumsy one, I found his stupidity adorable. But… I never told him." She sighed like this pained her. "When I made that confession, I didn't love him anymore. But I had to put it out there, so I was able to move on completely."

"Move on? To who?" Cindy pressed.

Pansy pursed her lips like it was a topic that physically hurt her. "I no longer love Neville because I love someone else. I've fallen… I've fallen for…"

The whole group held their breath.

"Ron Weasley."

Of course, this sudden announcement had quite the reaction. Cindy and Jeff ate it right up, Draco and Blaise gaped, Luna and Ginny nodded like they already knew, Neville looked surprised, and Harry just shook his head quietly. But Ron's reaction was the only one that the cameramen focused on. He stood up with a giant goofy grin plastered on his face, obviously glad that her feelings were finally out there."

Pansy looked at him. "What do you say, Weaselbee?"

He shook his head and laughed. "I say that I couldn't think of a more perfect time, or a perfect woman to tell me that… especially on national television."

She grinned. "I know I'm a bitch, that's something that'll never change, but with you I feel like a little less of a bitch. And that's the most wonderful feeling."

He chuckled, walked over to her, and put his arms around her waist. "I love you, bitchiness and all."

With that, he bent his head down and captured her lips with his own, gathering a collective "aww" by the majority of the onlooking crowd. When they released each other, both had relieved smiles on their faces that grew when everyone began to clap. Blaise gave a whoop and Ginny catcalled.

Draco turned to Hermione to see her reaction at their friend's revealed romance, and was surprised to see that she was ghostly pale and clutching her hands at her sides. "Hermione?"

Startled, she looked up at him. Her eyes were touched with red like she was holding back tears. "I-"

"Are you okay?"

She ignored his question and robotically got out of her seat. "I'm going to, um, go take a walk."

"It's cold and dark out there, and they're going to want you to stay…"

"I'm leaving," Hermione said again, this time louder. "I'm going to take a walk."

Cindy heard her this time, and looked like she was about to protest until she saw Hermione's distraught face. "Go right ahead, dear."

Hermione turned and disappeared into the bushes. Everyone watched her leave, suddenly distracted. They looked at Draco expectantly.

"I, er, I'm going to go see what's wrong with her…" Draco murmured before running off to where Hermione left.

Once the two were gone, Cindy clapped her hands. "Wonderful! Let's follow them! Nat, Carl, quietly and quickly now."

-.-.-.-.

It wasn't hard to find her, he just followed the sound of quiet sniffling.

"Hermione!"

She heard him, and ran off faster.

"Hermione, stop, you know I'll catch up with you eventually."

Heeding his advice, she slowed her run to a stop. "What?"

He grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. "I should be asking you that. What's wrong? What just happened?"

"I…" she sniffed and wiped her cheeks. "Nothing."

"This isn't nothing."

"Why do you even care?" she said, pulling her arm away.

"Well…" he shrugged. "I can't have my brilliant little lawyer going insane, now can I? Now what happened back there?"

She shook her head.

"Is it Ron?"

She just sobbed in response.

"You're not over him, are you?"

She just looked up at him with watery eyes as if that answered his question. To her surprise, his face fell a little. "Oh…I… Oh."

"It's not that."

He snapped his head back up. "Then what is it?"

"Ron and I… we were together for years. He was my first and only… discounting Viktor, which I usually do. Seeing him happy, seeing him move on and smile into another girl's eyes, it just hurts."

"So… you're not still in love with him?"

"Of course not!"

"Oh, well _sorry_. I just assumed, with the tears and all."

She rolled her eyes and wiped her tears. "So insensitive."

"Yeah, that's never been my strong point…"

"Besides," she said without thinking. "I think I… love someone else now."

Draco instantly forgot his anger, and felt like his heart had fallen to the pit of his stomach and was being chewed by the bugs he had recently ingested. "Oh… really…"

She looked up at him. "Yeah. I am."

He sneered to mask his feelings. "I bet he's just perfect, too, isn't he? I bet he's incredible looking."

"He is. No one I know could even compare."

"Smart too, I bet he's got an intelligence to rival yours."

She shrugged. "I wouldn't say that much, but he's got an admirable mind."

"And he's got to be funny."

She laughed. "Yeah, he's got this sort of mocking, dry humor."

He clenched his jaw. Who was this guy? "And I'll bet he's romantic as well. What girl doesn't like that?"

"He's certainly managed to seduce many women before me, so I suppose he's got to have a romantic side."

"Well." He said. "He sounds amazing."

"Yeah… he can be."

He stared at his feet. "Are you going to tell me who he is?"

A shuddery smile formed on her face. "Draco, look at me."

He heeded her request.

"Draco, I thought you'd see this, but the man I'm describing is-"

But before she could finish, she was interrupted by an outcry of "Oh, _CRAP_!"

And with that exclamation, two startling things happened. First, the flashlights of Jeff and Cindy clicked on to reveal an audience of Blaise, Luna, Neville, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Pansy, and the cameramen, one of which had tripped over a log in his excitement to capture Hermione's confession and let out the exclamation in response.

And second, it began to rain. And not just a drizzle, it began to downright downpour, causing Hermione and Draco to splutter in surprise at both the rain and the sudden appearance of their friends. "What are you all.. were you listening to… what's going on?"

Cindy clapped her hands excitedly again. "Hi Hermione, Draco. That was a wonderful little back and forth you had going there. But it looks like the weather has a different idea of what's going to happen tonight, and I think it's the perfect time for our next challenge, the biggest one yet. Oh, this is wonderful, we were just _waiting_ for this weather to arrive! We're going to pair you all up and you're going to have to complete this in the pouring rain. And because you two seemed like you were bonding so much here, I think Draco and Hermione should be our first pair!"

The two aforementioned contestants both openly gaped, first at each other, then at the enthusiastic host. Draco rolled his eyes up to the sky. "Oh Merlin help me…"

-.-.-.-.-.

So… do you like? xD I hope so…

Okay, before I leave, I have a few things to link you to:

1. This is my new and first tumblr ever, which I will updating now that I'm linking you all to it. www. boredomequalsinspiration . tumblr . com If the tumblr doesn't go too well for me, then I might switch to having a twitter instead. You guys tell me!

2. So my friends and I have this youtube video we just posted and I feel a bit ashamed to be asking you all to watch it, but I know they would loooove the views. www. youtube . com / user / honkifyouloveus

I'm actually in this video, the dancing one with the mask and the two giant inflatable crayons. If that doesn't make you want to watch it, I don't know what will. Haha x) (ps… I don't always look and act like that. Just so you know.)

It would mean a lot to me if you went there and watched, liked, commented, etc. If you do, end your comment with an "ff" and I'll know it's you guys. We're planning on doing another video like that in HARRY POTTER costumes or wizard costumes to celebrate the release of the last movie. So subscribe if you want to see that (:

As a return favor, if any of you have a fic you wrote that you want me to read/review, I'd be more than happy! Last time I had the windows opened and then my computer crashed so I lost them all :( If you could re-submit that'd be great x)

I also have my own personal youtube account that I won't like to you guys now, but I might later.

THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT! And thank you for reading! Review if you'd like (:

Love you all, Potato4


	17. UDPATE and DELETED SCENE

THIS IS NOT A REAL CHAPTER! (but there's a little something to read)

I'm very, very, very sorry. :(

I'm just here to say that

**A.** I am working on the latest chapter.

**B.** Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2 made me cry. VERY VERY VERY VERY much.

**C.** I made a twitter!

www . twitter . com / helloitsme_123

(remove the spaces)

Currently, if you want to at reply me with any ideas for the latest chapter, I would LOVE to hear your suggestions.

LVMM is coming to an end soon, so I'm open to your ideas, because without you guys and your encouragement I wouldn't have ever gotten around to finishing it. x)

So yeah, tell me what you want to see. Or just tell me hi. Or ask me a question. Or tell me what you think of the story. Haha I'd love to hear from you all!

**To repay you for the fact this is not a chapter, I have below the chapter-that-never-happened: **

(Refer to Chapter 11, entitled "iPods". Look to the bottom author's note. There is an explanation of this chapter-that-never-happened.)

-.-.-.-.

They were on logs. Each one of them, silently nibbling at the nuts in their hands. Beside the logs were little glass bowls of walnuts.

_Crunch. _

_Crunch. _

_Crunch. _

Hermione looked at her walnuts with a confused face. "I don't remember getting here."

"Yeah…" Harry said. "Why _are_ we here?"

"Cuz no one reviewed," Ron said, his words muffled from the amount of walnuts shoved into his cheeks.

"You look like a chipmunk," Ginny remarked.

Luna was laying on her back, twiddling her walnuts up above her face. "These kind of look like old men's faces. All wrinkled and twisted in a friendly sort of way."

Ron ignored her. "You'd think that out of all the readers we have, at least one could've reviewed. Just one would say '_Hi'_, or '_This story is good',_ or even _'Go die in a hole, Potato4, your stories suck. Since when do Draco and Hermione make out in a fury of long held back sexual frustration?'_."

Hermione bit back a retort, instead throwing a walnut at Ron's head. "Fuck you."

"Granger! Language!" Draco said.

"Well who cares? None of them bothered to review anyway, so I can be as Goddamned OOC as I want."

The others looked at her with shocked expressions. Luna whispered in amazement. "You didn't."

"Hermione, you know we're not supposed to be aware of the…_ fandom world_." Ginny hissed the last two words as if they were taboo. "You have to stay in character… If you didn't…" she shuddered.

"Well if Hermione gets to be out of character, then I do too!" Pansy exclaimed. She dumped her bowl of walnuts onto the ground. "Screw this shit, I want some chocolate cake. Bring on the calories!"

Suddenly, everyone else was caught up in this new rush of freedom. Ginny started making out with Draco, Hermione broke out into a rap while Harry danced hip-hop in front of her, Ron started reciting Shakespeare, Pansy conjured up some sweatpants and cheesecake, and Luna started talking about science and pure factual evidence.

Out of the chaos Blaise arose, standing on top of his log. He looked up to the skies. "CURSE YOU, READERS!" he screamed. "MUST YOU CAUSE THIS INSANITY? COULD YOU NOT HAVE REVIEWED! AHH, YOU HAVE BROUGHT UPON AN INCURABLE INFECTION…. we are now… OOC!"

He moved to get down, then seemed to remember something and climbed back up. "Oh, and one more thing… I HATE WALNUTS!"

-.-.-.

I will be keeping this chapter up, but it will not count as an actual chapter. So yeah, tell me what you thought, and tweeeeet meee (: If you don't have a twitter, it literally takes like 2 minutes to make one xP

Love always,

Potato4


	18. Running in the Rain

FOREWARD: This chapter is the epitome of suckiness and it MIGHT be edited and re-uploaded in December. (Actually I'm assuming it will suck because I'm not going to read over it.)

**If any of you know the significance of writing in November, you will understand why I don't have time to edit this chapter.** I'll explain at the bottom so READ ITTT.

**Also, last chapter many people misunderstood what I meant by that "deleted scene".** I was even called a rather rude name.

It was all a joke. I DID get reviews on that chapter, I was just making fun of how I threatened to make the walnut thing a chapter if I DIDN'T. The reason it was a "deleted scene" was because I DID get reviews. I also wanted to say that I didn't want to come across as being unappreciative of the amount of reviews and readers I have, because I am immensely appreciative. I hope I won't ever have to explain that again! I hope you all just know it because it's true! (x

Chapter Seventeen: Running In the Rain

The mud was streaming down like watery lava, slithering through Hermione's feet and impairing her climb.

"Impossible," she growled. "Just impossible."

"Why don't you take off your shoes?" Draco suggested from behind her.

"Because," she panted, "the mud has permanently stuck them to my flesh."

Draco bent over and tugged at his own pair until one came off with a loud suctioning pop. "Yeah, I think a bit of skin came off with that."

"Stupid… effing…. show…" she growled. "I don't even know where we're supposed to go."

"Look!" Draco yelled over the howling of the wind. "Over there, it's the shack that Ron and I built at the beginning of the challenge!"

"What? How did that stay up?" Hermione asked, recalling its pitiful structure.

"It looks like two trees fell above it, making some sort of a protective ceiling." Draco ran towards it.

"That's…. very oddly convenient," Hermione said as she followed.

They both huddled underneath the shack, trying to keep body warmth. Draco's hair fell in little wet strands scattered across his forehead. Hermione had the urge to fix them, but didn't.

"How symbolic, huh?" she said. "That I'd be provided protection by something built by Ron and you."

"You don't have to turn everything into some metaphor. Plus, I bet it'd mean more if it was built by that mystery man of yours."

Hermione sighed. "Draco, the mystery man is-"

_Creak… SNAP!_

"What was that?" she whispered.

Draco grasped her hand. "_Run!_"

And that she did, slipping and throwing herself headfirst onto the muddy ground to avoid the two precarious trees falling straight down onto the shack.

She flopped her head to the left to see Draco stomach-down next to her, mud splattered onto every square inch of his exposed pale skin. They both looked at each other, to the collapsed mess behind them, and then at each other again. Then they broke out into mad laughter.

"Thanks," she said. "Could've died there."

"No problem, Granger… no problem."

-.-.-.-.

"Ugh!" Cindy cried. "I thought enchanting those two trees would do it, but they had to break, didn't they? I should've used a sticking charm…"

Jim nodded. "Ah, well… she'll tell him eventually."

The two of them were in the host's cabin. If any of the contestants were to go there, they would be surprised to see that it was the only square of the island that was sunny and dry. Funny how the weather works when a wand is in control.

-.-.-.-.

Harry and Ginny were on another part of the island, paired up and struggling in the rain as well.

"So…" Harry panted. "We get to the top before everyone else, and we win?"

"Yep." Ginny said. "I guess all the other competitions, and the viewer's choice, all of that really went to the shithole so we could climb up this mountain in the rain."

"Fun."

"Right."

They climbed in silence for awhile. Then Harry coughed nervously. "I'm sorry for being nosy about you and Blaise."

"It's alright. I get it." She was quiet for a long time. "Plus, you know, there was never anything between us."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think for awhile I was just using him as a way to distract myself from you."

"Oh… _oh_."

She shrugged. "It hurt me a lot more than you'd think everything we broke up. It tore me up. I just wanted us to be… real. Not just on and off like a light switch."

"I'm sorry."

She smiled a small smile. "It was both of us. Not just you."

"Well…" he said. "Can you forgive us?"

She smiled wider as she reached over to take off his glasses and wipe them clean. "Of course."

"Good," he said, adjusting his now slightly-less-rained-on glasses. "Now let's get the hell up this mountain."

-.-.-.

Pansy and Ron were like those crazy couples on game shows that will do anything to win. You know, the ones with the matching jumpsuits that had a stupidly catchy slogan printed across the chest, and constantly talked about how much they loved each other and their kids and/or dogs.

Both of them had a crazed expression on their faces, focused on the top of the mountain, ignoring the sting of the rain when they forgot to blink in favor of keeping their eyes on the prize.

They had eventually reached a synchronized step that, from the outside, looked rather like a military march.

Each time one slowed down, the other would whisper something into the other's ear, something the cameras couldn't quite catch. But it must've been very motivating, because they would instantly pick up the pace and carry on.

The whole time Pansy had complained about being a contestant, and Ron had trudged along half-heartedly.

Both of those people were gone now. Now it was Pansy and Ron, game show winners. Maybe it was the cash reward, the title, or the fame- no one knew. But they were determined.

They were going to do whatever it took.

-.-.-.-.

Blaise and Luna were nearest the base of the mountain. Luna had wanted to look for Smurgles or Flurgals or Quankles. Blaise didn't know, but he agreed to go with her, because they apparently only came out during tropical rains.

He watched her on the sidelines as she drifted from branch to branch, murmuring to herself quietly.

He smiled at the sight of it. The quirkiness and childlike honesty and innocence all wrapped together into one woman.

"Find them yet?"

"No," she said with a frustrated sigh. "I guess they aren't here."

"Oh well."

"It's highly disappointing."

He patted the spot next to him on a boulder underneath a large fan leaf to keep him dry. "Sit." She did. He put his arm around her. It was warm.

-.-.-.-.

Harry had been running when it happened. He slipped over one of those stupid logs and cut his leg on a rock.

He insisted he was fine, but Ginny didn't seem to believe him. She told him she was going to bandage him up whether he liked it or not.

They stopped in a cave. It was cold and damp, but better than the rain.

"Hand me my backpack," Ginny said.

"I'm fine," Harry repeated as he limped to the mouth of the cave. She grabbed his jacket and pulled him down.

"You are not. Now hand me it." He took the backpack off and gave it to her. "Lay down."

He obeyed. She split his pant leg open to expose the two-inch long slit, and then grimaced. "Disgusting."

She rummaged through the netting for anti-bacterial. Once she cleaned it, she reached into the side pockets for bandages. But when she pulled her hand out, she was holding something very different.

It was a string with a diamond ring at the end of it. Her face went white. "What's this?" she asked Harry shakily.

He sighed. "That's your ring."

"You were going to _propose_?"

"I've had that ring since I was eighteen, Gin. I just never found the right time to give it to you."

Her hand was shaking as she held it. "So… are you giving it back to me, or are you proposing?"

"Maybe… maybe a little bit of both?"

"Harry…"

He looked at her. "I always had it with me. I always knew. But I don't know anymore."

She leaned over to him and smiled. He cocked an eyebrow. She cocked one back. He smiled.

And then she kissed him.

-.-.-.-.

"I'm cold," Hermione said. They had both proceeded from their near-death experience with the palm trees, and were now on their way again.

"I'd offer you my jacket, but it's so wet I'm not sure if I could get it off of my body."

Hermione laughed. "Do you think they have cameras around here?"

"I'm sure. Waterproof ones at that."

"Then we'd better be careful."

Draco looked up and tried to squint past the rain and wind. "You know, I think we're almost there."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Do you think we could make it if we ran?"

"Yeah."

"Count of three?"

They both set their sights ahead. "One… two… _three_."

-.-.-.

Luna leaned her head onto Blaise's shoulder. They watched the rain pound into the ground, safe under their leaf umbrella.

"Luna… have you ever heard of the Cupidinis?"

She looked up at him. "No… what is it?"

"Well… it's this tiny creature. It goes in through your ear, and it makes it's way all the way down to your heart."

"Does it hurt you?"

"No, no, no… well, I guess sometimes. It depends. See, they come in pairs. One goes to one person, and the other to another. And if they find the wrong person, then eventually they die. But if they find the right one, then they tickle your heart. And then they go to your head and they make you crazy."

She cocked her head to the side. "Cupidinis sounds like Cupid."

He laughed. "That's what it's supposed to sound like."

"Have you ever been infected with one?" she asked.

"I think so. Have you?"

She looked at him, straight in the eye. "I'm pretty sure."

"Do you think that maybe… just maybe… we have the same ones?"

"Yes. I do think so." She smiled. "You can kiss me now."

So he did.

-.-.-.-.

Pansy and Ron were running. Running so, so very fast.

Then Ron spoke the first words between the two of them since the start of the race: "To your right. Is that Draco and Hermione?"

Pansy checked, and saw a glimpse through the winds and brush. "Yes."

"Faster?"

"Faster."

-.-.-.-.

Hermione spotted the determined couple just after they saw her. "Faster, Draco, they're right across from us!"

He shook his head. "I can't go any faster than this."

"Seriously? Come on, push yourself!"

He glared. "I'm sorry. Why don't you go ask your mystery man to come and run with you then, huh?"

She suddenly stopped. It was a very inconvenient time to stop, as it was in the middle of a clearing. Rain poured down on her. "Draco."

He slowed to a stop as well. "What are you doing?"

"Come here."

"Why bother?" he sighed and started pacing. "I don't compare. I've tried this whole time to impress you-"

"Draco."

"And we fight-flirt all the time at work, I thought you knew-"

"Draco."

"And every time I see you, it's like these crazy feelings and I hate them but I can't help them-"

"Draco."

"And I just _know_ it's your fault and now you tell me there's this perfect man out there-"

"DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!"

He shut up. "Yes?"

"You are that man! _You're him_! I love _you_." She shook her head at him.

His face went from anger to confused to sudden realization. As the truth of what she just said dawned on him, a small smile crept onto his face and then grew and grew. He let out a small laugh. "Wha…"

She laughed wit him. "It's you. It's been you all along."

And then he was racing at her, then spinning her in the air, then crushing his lips to hers, finally.

And it was perfect.

-.-.-.-.

So how was that? BAM! I've wanted to write that scene for so long.

So this end note is to tell you all that I am doing NANOWRIMO! Yay! If you don't know what that is, go to www. nanowrimo . com

Here's where you can find my nanowrimo story!:

www . fictionpress . com / ~ InsufferableKnowItAll

The title of it is NaNoWriMo Untitled. Leave criticism as you please!

PLEEEEASE keep in mind that nanowrimo is about writing quantity and NOT quality. I've been writing 1,667 words every day, so I don't have much time for editing. In December, however, I will be fixing it up if I like what I wrote. More about that in the A/N's of that actual story.

This story is near the end, so I will either be dedicating all my time to my original work, or I may take another one of my fics off of hiatus. I have to decide.

Also, check out my new Twilight blog (I DON'T like Twilight, I make fun of it b/c of a bet with my friend) www. madelinereadstwilight . blogspot . com


	19. As It Turns Out, They Fly

A/N- **IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE BELOW**.

Hello all, and welcome to the second-to-last-chapter of my beloved story… :)

PS- SORRRYYYYY if this is edited poorly.

-.-.-.

Chapter Eighteen: As It Turns Out, They Fly

"Check right again. Are they still there?"

Pansy and Ron were at a breakneck speed, darting past tree and rock and log and puddles on their way up the mountain.

"I don't…" Ron squinted. "Wait."

"What?"

"They're… kissing…"

"_What_?" Pansy somehow managed to look stunned while still jogging.

"Wow, they're really going at it."

"Ron, stop staring! Keep running! Our only competition is now too preoccupied with each other's tongues- we're going to win this!"

-.-.-.

Harry broke away from the redhead's embrace. "Well… I guess I know now."

"I guess you do." She winked.

He took the ring and unhooked it from the string. "I won't ask you to marry me… not right now, not after everything. But I want you to have this, as a promise that whatever happens between us, I don't want to let you go like the countless times I did before."

She took the gold band and slid it onto her finger. "I like that idea."

"Now, do you want to go kick this mountain's ass?"

She smiled. "I like that idea almost as much."

-.-.-.-.

Blaise and Luna were wrapped in each other, legs and arms tangled in a bundle held together by a warm blanket underneath a large tree. She was humming, and he was grinning to himself.

"Blaise?"

"Yeah?"

"I think we lost this competition."

"Mhm… yeah, I think we did as well."

-.-.-.

Her hair was sticking to his cheeks in the rain. Draco was holding her too tight, but it was only because he was too afraid to let go of her again, in case she was lying or it was all a joke.

But eventually she got too heavy, and he dropped her, and she linked her arms around his neck. "You smell bad," Hermione whispered.

"You do too," he breathed back.

"It's awfully muddy."

"I know." He drew her closer and pressed her soaked, slightly squishy body to his, and breathed in the scent of fresh mud. It was terribly romantic, in his mind anyway. "I just would like you to know that I hate you."

"What?" she asked, alarmed.

"For not telling me sooner. We could've died in that shack! And I would've died thinking you loved some douchebag out there…"

She let go of him and grinned. "I do."

"Shut up."

"Nah, I don't think I will."

"I guess I'll have to make you."

She laughed. "Here, we go, bickering agai-!" She was cut off as he kissed her again, this time short and quick.

"I think Pansy and Ron have gotten ahead of us," he said, squinting and looking ahead.

"Yeah… I don't think we have a chance anymore."

He grabbed her hand, and it felt fragile and warm in his. "Second place?"

"Why not?"

-.-.-.

Cindy twirled her wand happily between two fingers, examining the every nook and cranny of the island through two dozen screens that switched between all five hundred cameras on the island. Jeff sat beside her, eating a pumpkin cake.

"Merlin, I've missed these things. The muggle world just doesn't bake like we do…"

"OHMYHOLYFROGBALLS!" Cindy squealed. "They're finally together!"

Jeff grunted, and a bit of cake spewed out of his parted lips. "Wha?"

"Draco and Hermione! Ohh, this is just _perfect_! Now all we have to do is make sure they don't get up there before Ron and Pansy… goodness knows those two need to win, they have the disgusting lovesick determination that viewers just _eat_ up. What should we send?"

He pondered it. "Well, throughout this entire thing, they haven't really encountered many animals…"

"Brilliant," she said, and clutched her wand firmly, pointing at the screen that displayed Draco and Hermione's tight embrace. "_Alatcheo_."

-.-.-.

If any moment in the entire world could be in slow motion, the most glorious one would have been when Pansy tripped over the boulder.

It wasn't really a boulder, more like… a large rock. Too small for a boulder, too large for a rock.

Pansy had ditched her heels long before this point, but she couldn't even feel her feet now anyway. Her eyes were focused so much on that final tip of the mountain, it was so close, so very close. She could see the trees that seemed to graze the lid of the sky, and the rain that hit their leaves and slid down slowly. She narrowed her eyes and ran faster, and then all of a sudden, she wasn't looking at the trees anymore.

Her body was being carried against her will, and she felt that shooting pain in her foot, which was a bit delayed. Then she was looking at the ground, and she was getting farther from it, and then closer.

Suddenly her body flipped over and she was facing the sky, then falling from it, then hitting the ground. Pain zipped through her back and she screamed.

Ron was kneeling beside her and looking at her urgently. "Are you alright?"

"What…" she breathed. "_the hell_… just happened?"

"You somehow managed to trip over a rock, and then flipped all the way over uphill. I don't know how you did it…" he looked almost dreamy. "It was rather majestic, albeit rather painful as well."

"YES. It was." She tried to push herself up and groaned. "I think I broke my spine."

"No, dear, that's not possible, you'd be paralyz-"

"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME, I THINK I BROKE MY SPINE, RONALD. Now carry me the rest of the way."

He cowered. "Yes, my darling."

-.-.-.

A week later, when the show aired, an eleven-year-old muggle boy by the name of Terrence would pull out his iPod at this very moment, turn to his Sound Effects app, and crack the whip sound.

"He's whipped."

His mother would then turn to him, a bit startled that her son knew what this meant, but she would grin nevertheless. "Yes, he definitely is."

-.-.-.

Draco and Hermione were taking it slow, holding hands, and climbing one small step at a time.

"So what does this mean now, you know, as far as work?" Hermione asked.

Draco shrugged. "I suppose a lot of them actually expected it, to be honest… "

She begrudgingly agreed. "But isn't there some sort of work policy where no one can be in a relationship…?"

"Well, I just didn't want to walk in on anyone, you know, getting it on." He winked. "But there are exceptions to every rule."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure no one will have to worry about walking in on us."

"Hey, don't speak too son. I have quite the comfortable desk, chose it specifically with that in mind."

She shoved him slightly. "Oh, shut up."

The lighting struck above them and both of them shuddered simultaneously. Before either of them could remark on the odd occurrence, the bushes beside them started to rustle.

"What's that?" Hermione whispered.

"I… don't think I want to know." Both of them stopped (in quite a stupid fashion) and stared and the quivering leaves.

And then it charged.

"_AHHHH_!"

"DRACO! DO SOMETHING!"

And he did do something. He ran.

She sprinted behind him, but it's grunting let her know that it was too close to run away from. "What is it?" he shouted.

"A boar! A wild boar! Draco, hex it!"

"No! We can't, cameras!"

"Then beat it or something!"

He turned around, his face screwed into a 'what?' expression. "Hermione! The thing is nearly as tall as I am."

"Fine!" she turned around and stopped running. Her mud-streaked face was etched with determination. As the boar kept sprinting at them, she stuck her foot out and kicked it square in the brown-haired chin. It squealed and toppled backward.

Draco crept up behind her and they watched silently as it grunted and struggled to stand up again. "You are a lazy ass man," she said calmly.

"Excuse me?"

"Look at that. It's so weak. Well, stronger than _you_, I suppose."

Now Draco was angry. "What is that, a challenge?"

"Perhaps."

He rolled up his sleeves. "Fine." Once the boar was up again, this time dazed and extremely pissed, Draco brought his fist square to the monster's forehead. He winced slightly at the shooting pain in his hand, but brought it back and struck it again, and again, and again, until the boar was probably more dizzy than in pain. Finally, it fell over, and appeared to have passed out.

"Not too shabby, I suppose, for one used to hexes and charms," Hermione remarked from the corner. "But it was a seventeen-hit KO. And your health bar is running low."

"What?"

"It's-" Hermione sighed. "A muggle reference. It's a good thing you don't know, you'd probably become addicted just like every other male in the world."

"Er… right."

"Never mind, let's just get going before it decides to wake up!"

-.-.-.

"A boar?" Jeff said. "You sent them a _boar_?"

"It was the best I could think of off the top of my head! It stalled them nonetheless," Cindy said. "I think it's about time we head to the top of the mountain. Pansy and Ron should be arriving soon."

The two hosts walked outside to the border of where their enchanted, sunny hut met the rainy island. Jeff grabbed Cindy's arm and they apparated to the top, where a small redheaded man could be seen helping a woman in a bright pink jumpsuit up the slippery side.

"Here they come!" Cindy said.

"Hey!" came a voice from the side. It was Carl, huddled in a dry corner covered by a canopy of leaves with Nat. They were waiting with their cameras for the contestants to arrive. "When did you two get up here?"

"Ahh…" Jeff stuttered. "We, um, climbed. There was a path for us that was prepared a long time ago."

Nat looked at him suspiciously. "We never saw a path…"

"Well, that's the point," Cindy explained. "We didn't want the contestants to see it."

"Right."

"Anyway, Pansy and Ron are nearly here. Get up and set up the cameras."

They did as they were told, and within five minutes, Ron could be seen just around the bend, huffing and puffing as he carried Pansy piggy-back style. At the top of the mountain, just in front of the waiting hosts, were four flags: One was blue and said H&G, one was yellow with B&L, the other purple with R&P, and the last red with D&H.

Ron saw the slightly torn purple flag and his face lit up. He was now nearly crawling, the weight of his weak girlfriend too much for him to uphold.

"And he's only three yards away, struggling, but certainly getting there," Jeff narrated for the camera. "Looks like he's gonna win it, just a few steps away from a million dollars!"

Then, all of a sudden, there was a thundering of footsteps. And out of a forest of trees clear on the other side of the mountain, the shining blonde hair of Luna came bursting though. Just behind her was Blaise, and without giving Ron a single second to react, they raced to the flags (hesitating only to see which was theirs) and tore the yellow banner out of the ground.

The others at the top were stunned still. It was Cindy who spoke first. "Ahem. Well, it seems we've had a surprising turn of events. Congratulations to our spur-of-the-moment-winners, Blaise and Luna!"

Jeff urged the cameramen over and shoved a microphone in their faces. "Tell us, how did you make it up the mountain so quickly? Adrenaline? The prospect of money? Love?"

It was Luna who answered, and her statement was simple: "It was the Forgaments. As it turns out, they can fly."

-.-.-.

Twenty minutes later, Draco and Hermione made it to the top, and an hour after that, Harry and Ginny came breezily climbing. Blaise and Luna were talking to the cameras in the corner about their victory climb and Ron had long passed out from surprise, disappointment, and sheer fatigue.

Once everyone had arrived, Cindy snapped her fingers.

And the rain stopped.

All heads turned to her, and all jaws dropped.

"Uhmm…" Hermione said. "What did you just do?"

"I stopped the rain. It was getting annoying, not to mention very wet."

That was when it dawned on them. "You're a witch," Draco said.

"Shh," she hushed them. "Nat and Carl don't know." The cameramen, however, didn't even notice the weather change. They were busy with their interview.

"What about you?" Ginny asked Jeff.

"Squib."

"Oh…"

Harry put up his hands. "Hold up. So you know who we are?"

"Of course," Cindy said. "I was with the rest of the world, celebrating when you overtook Voldemort."

Draco sat down. "This is all too much. This is all… too… much…"

"Well, we're happy you two got together!" Cindy said. "That was simply adorable! And the best part is, we caught it all on one of our five hundred cameras."

Hermione had to sit down too, at this part. "Oh dear Merlin. I really hope no one in the wizarding world sees that…"

"Well, I know for sure Neville and Voldemort will," Jeff said with a laugh.

Harry frowned. "Voldemort?"

"Well, having you all attend this competition was Tom's idea, after all. He called me up, asked me to invite you all. And now look at you! In love, and everything's great." Jeff's smile was too genuine to be lying.

…

…

…

"Will someone please make this situation less bizarre?"

-.-.-.-.

Well, folks, that's about it! There will be ONE LAST CHAPTER of this story, that being the epilogue x) Don't worry, it will have plenty of detail, and (I hope) it ties up all the loose ends.

**A/N:**** Okay people, I really wanted to know if you'd hate me if I did this- **I started another Dramione multi-chapter *shields face* I KNOW, I KNOW, it takes me forever to update this one, and I dropped Captive Memories and the AVPM one, so I'm going to explain.

_**I think I'm coming back to FanFiction for an undetermined amount of time**_**. **I took about a year off to work on life and my own original stuff, and I've found that it's getting hard for me to write. FF is a way for me to write easily because I get to play with characters that are already created, etc.

**So here's the deal!** I am going to finish this fic, and write five chapters of the new one I have an idea for. If I finish five chapters, and still want to continue, I'll post it **ONLY** if I get reviews telling me you won't be mad. If you're going to get angry, then I probably won't post it.

**ALSO** if I can remember what the plot was going to be for Captive Memories, I'll try my BEST to finish it. AVPM will never be finished, I'm very sorry to say. (someone else is welcome to take it, just PM me!)

So, review with whatever you'd like, and tell me what you think about these potential new stories….

Love always, Potato (x

PS- The possible new story will be a mix of humor, drama, and romance. It will possibly be M-rated (debating) and will take place while the characters are eighteen. Of course, it'll also be a Dramione (duhh). Add me to your author alert in case I end up publishing it and you want to see it :D


	20. Epilogue

A/N- THIS IS IT, EVERYONE!

Enjoy (:

-.-.-.-.

LVMM: Epilogue

"So," Draco said, tearing a piece of meat off of his fresh chicken leg that Hermione had conjured for everyone. "Let me get this straight, alright? Lord Voldemort, now Tom Riddle, told you to send us all on this show out of sheer boredom and wanting to hook us up?"

Jeff nodded.

"And Cindy's a witch and you've known exactly who we were and what we were capable of this entire time?"

"That would be correct."

"And you had five hundred cameras, all of which caught every single moment of this entire thing?"

"Yep."

"And it's on television?"

"Uh-huh."

Draco shrugged and tossed the chicken on the ground. "Well, there goes my career!"

Hermione wrapped her arm around him. "Nah, I'm sure not everyone has seen it."

Everyone was down at the shore of the island, eating their fill, and relaxing. Ron had woken up from his blackout and was being scolded by an angry Pansy about how he had completely failed her as a boyfriend.

When they asked Luna how she and Blaise won, her eyes lit up. "It was the Forgaments, of course! I told you they existed. We were just sitting there…. And they appeared- and they had wings! They flew us up to the top." She said it all matter-of-factly.

When they looked to Blaise for confirmation of this story, he just gave them a mysterious look and shrugged.

"When will the plane be here?" Harry asked.

"About ten minutes," Cindy said.

"Great. I'm looking forward to the little peanut packets again."

Eventually, they boarded the plane. It was odd this time, thinking of how things had changed since they were on that plane. They were lining up in pairs this time.

Cindy and Jeff waved them goodbye, and Nat and Carl were filming their departure. Each of them had given a note with their last words about the show, and recorded themselves reading it to be played on the last episode of _Survive That!_'s first season.

It was emotional leaving the island, (for the women anyway). As Hermione looked out the small plane window at the palm trees that were rapidly shrinking into the distance, she sighed. "That was…. Certainly interesting."

"Yeah," agreed the tired, dirty, smelly, man next to her, sitting content with his hand over hers. "Interesting's the word."

-.-.-.

Two years later, Harry and Ginny would be having their wedding. She would wear a beautiful white dress with embroidered beads in the shape of small leaves around her waist in honor of their island experience.

Luna would make the shoes.

Carl would be hired to edit the wedding video, and footage from the show that brought them back together would be played at the reception, embarrassingly enough.

The ring she had been wearing for two years finally meant something that night.

-.-.-.

One year later, Pansy and Ron would have eloped. Blaise and Luna would generously give them half their winnings, which they would spend on a cruise to the Caribbean. What was left of the money Pansy would take and spent on shoes.

Just nine months after the cruise, the couple would be giving birth to their first babies, twins by the name of Dandelion Hope and Persimmon Destiny.

Ron would not have any say in the process of choosing the names.

-.-.-.

Two and a half years later, Cindy and Jeff would retire from the show. As an honor to the first victors of _Survive That_!, Blaise and Luna would be given an opportunity to host, which they gladly accepted….

"And here we are, in the arctic tundra!" the blonde woman would exclaim from inside a gigantic faux-fur-lined hoodie. Her fiancée would be beside her, preparing an igloo for the night. "The contestants are about to leave on their first expedition for food."

"Anything you'd like to say before they're off?" Blaise would ask.

She would wink at the shivering line of young adults. "Look for the Forgaments!"

With the eccentric new hosting, ratings would go through the roof.

-.-.-.

Just two weeks after the competition ended, Hermione would be returning for another day at work. The strange looks were finally dying down, and some even looked at her with more respect for what she had done.

On they way to her office, she was stopped by a skinny, quavering man. "Yes, Martin?"

"Excuse me, but Mr Malfoy would like to see you immediately. He claims it's urgent."

"What? But we just fixed the patent issues, what is it now?"

Martin cowered, and held out a slip of paper. "It's this."

Hermione grabbed it and read it over. A small smile crept onto her face. "Ah. Thank you, Martin, I'll be right there."

She changed course, and click-clacked her heels down the waxed floors to the elegant doors that read, on a golden nameplate, _Draco Malfoy._ She straightened her blouse and pulled at her skirt, then knocked.

"Come in."

She pushed the door open, and there he was, head cocked slightly to the left and eating grapes on his desk. He was a big grapes fan. "You got my message?"

She closed the door behind her. "It said the usual. But I don't think I'm quite up for… the usual."

He pouted. "But I have nothing to do until my three o'clock."

"But the couch is so small…"

Draco's face contorted into a mischievous grin and he pushed the papers on his desk aside. "Remember what I said about my custom-made desk…?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. We're not doing that."

He got up and walked to her, kissed her light and long, and picked her up. "Come on."

"No, what if someone walks in?" she whispered.

"No one's allowed in without knocking."

"Draco, I- mrrph!" He kissed her again and carried her over.

Two minutes later, ninety percent of the contents on Draco's desk were on the ground, and although Hermione would never admit it, it was very true- the desk was _quite_ comfortable.

-.-.-.

Four years later, on the five-year anniversary of _Survive That!,_ all the original contestants would be brought back for a short interview concerning how it was on the show and where they were now.

"I hate bugs. I hate mud. I hate the wilderness," Pansy would testify. "Also, I hate children. Scratch that, I hate _raising_ children. They're cute, and I love 'em, but I can't stand the poop. Thank Mer- God for the nannies!"

Ron would follow up with two sentences. : "This show brought me the best and worst thing of my life- that woman. Also, I have to work weekend shifts to afford the damn nanny."

"The only thing better than being on the show is hosting it," Luna would say with a grin.

Blaise would be less enthusiastic about the matter: "It's great, I couldn't ask for a more fun job. But when the only opportunity you have to have sex with your wife is in the freezing snow or on the edge of a volcano… It takes away from the enjoyment of it all."

Harry and Ginny would do their interview together, as Harry wouldn't leave his newly pregnant wife's side. "I thank this show every day for bringing my wife and I back together," he would say. "Although the manner in which they did it was awfully uncomfortable."

"I can still taste those nasty bugs," Ginny would remark. "The way they squirmed…. Ugh."

Hermione would be trying to recount the adventures they had had five years ago, but would be interrupted by her own laughter, amused by the memories. "We were ridiculous back then. Simply ridiculous. But it had to have been one of the best experiences of my life. I mean, it got me that stupid kid." She would point at Draco.

Draco wouldn't have spoken a single word until this point. He was like a child with a secret, he could barely contain himself. "Can I tell them now?"

"Sure," she would say exasperatedly.

Draco would look straight at the camera, and smile. "Well, we decided we wanted to wait until these interviews to say this, but… we're getting married!"

And Ginny would scream, "Took you damn long enough!" And Ron would jokingly pretend to throw up, and Harry would just beam, remembering the time on the log years ago when she first admitted her love for that blond-haired man.

At home, Tom Riddle would be watching the whole episode with a large grin. After all, now he could finally show up at their wedding and take full credit for the couple's union.

Maybe he should start arranging other couples, he would think to himself. He was obviously terrific at it.

He could see it there, in mind's eye. A large building, with a sign that read: _'Lord Voldemort: Matchmaker_'.

-.-.-.-.

A/N- AWWW OMIGOSH IT'S OVER :( I'm actually really sad….

In case you were wondering, Neville and Hannah ended up happy together. I just couldn't really fit them in anywhere.

So that's it, I hope you liked the "happily-ever-after" ending. This wasn't a drama fic, so I wanted a happy ending.

Looking back at when I started this story (nearly two years ago), I really can't believe how much has changed…. I'm fifteen now :D and in high school. I have had my first boyfriend (aww) and we're about to hit our one-year anniversary. I've lost two of my best friends, gained two awesome new ones (although I still need to get one to read HP), and my writing has evolved a lot as well. Enough about my personal life- I really want to thank ALL OF YOU who have stuck with me this whole time, half the time, even maybe from just last chapter. You're all amazing! I love you for your support and encouragement (: It has meant so much to me over the last two years.

Sooo… this ending is rather bittersweet, because I'm happy to announce my newest story, "The Inconvenient Spousal Arrangement" :D Go check it out if you'd like, and review for the sake of the end of this story (x

4736

(Love Forever and Always)

~Potato


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